System and method for managing reactions to annotations

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatuses, and/or systems are provided for enabling a time-shifted, on-demand social network for watching, creating, and/or sharing time-shifted annotation datasets (e.g., commentary tracks) synced to any on-demand programming, and for managing reactions to annotations (e.g., comments).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to: (1) U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/771,461, filed on Mar. 1, 2013, entitled“Marking (Annotating) Live or Captured Media;” (2) U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/794,202, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled“Method and Apparatus for Marking (Annotating) Live or Captured Media;”(3) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/771,467, filed onMar. 1, 2013, entitled “Time Shift Local;” (4) U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/794,271, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled“Method and Apparatus for Conducting Time Shifted Interactions WithMedia;” (5) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/771,514,filed on Mar. 1, 2013, entitled “Group Media Control;” (6) U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/794,322, filed on Mar. 15,2013, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling Media BeingExperienced by a Group of Users;” (7) U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/771,519, filed on Mar. 1, 2013, entitled“Relevant/Navigation Path User Interface;” (8) U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/794,419, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled“Method and Apparatus for Controlling Display of User Interface ElementsBased on Relevancy;” and (9) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 61/819,941, filed on May 6, 2013, entitled “Method and Apparatus forSharing Virtual Video Clips Resulting In Audio Playback Without Owningthe Source Material,” each of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

This application is additionally related to the following, co-pendingU.S. utility patent applications, filed on even date herewith: (1) U.S.patent application Ser. No. [Attorney Docket No. 022730-0429852],entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING AND MAINTAINING A DATABASE OFANNOTATIONS CORRESPONDING TO PORTIONS OF A CONTENT ITEM;” (2) U.S.patent application Ser. No. [Attorney Docket No. 022730-0429853],entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A DATASET OF ANNOTATIONSCORRESPONDING TO PORTIONS OF A CONTENT ITEM;” (3) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. [Attorney Docket No. 022730-0429854], entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING ANNOTATIONS RECEIVED DURINGPRESENTATIONS OF A CONTENT ITEM;” (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No.[Attorney Docket No. 022730-0429855], entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORPROVIDING REWARDS BASED ON ANNOTATIONS;” and (5) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. [Attorney Docket No. 022730-0429856], entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR SHARING PORTIONS OF A CONTENT ITEM,” each of which isadditionally hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to methods, apparatuses, and/or systemsfor enabling a time-shifted, on-demand social network for watching,creating, and/or sharing time-shifted annotation datasets (e.g.,commentary tracks) synced to any on-demand programming, and moreparticularly to managing reactions to annotations (e.g., comments).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Through the advent of social media, users are able to disseminateinformation to others, as well as interact with one another, via varioussocial networks. For example, users may utilize a social networkingservice to inform others about movie and/or television episodes thatthey have watched, share their reactions to events occurring during anepisode in real-time, and respond to one another's reactions to eventsin an episode. However, users that miss an episode during an originalairing and watch the episode at a later time (e.g., subsequent airing,online streaming, DVD presentation, etc.) are typically unable toexperience the reactions of other users as they watch the episode, forexample, due to the significantly lower number of viewers that arewatching the episode at the same time (for subsequent airings) orbecause they are watching it “on-demand” at a time when others are notviewing the episode. Moreover, because the previously-shared reactionsare available to users that have not watched the episode, the sharedreactions may act as “spoilers” that ruin the experience of the usersthat have yet to watch the episode.

In addition, it is not uncommon for users to want to use social networksto share information about different scenes (e.g., funny or poignantscenes) in a movie or television episode with other users of the socialnetwork. Although users may share information with others regarding aspecific scene within an episode, they are generally unable to easilyprovide others with easy access to actually view the scene within themovie or television episode. As an example, users may describe the scenethat they wish to share, or they may specify a particular contentdelivery service and a reference time at which the scene can be accessedby a user via the specified content delivery service. However, both ofthese approaches require users to manually search for the scene withinthe episode, and the latter approach further requires that the usershave access to the specified content delivery service. These and otherdrawbacks exist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention addressing these and other drawbacks relates to methods,apparatuses, and/or systems for enabling a time-shifted, on-demandsocial network for watching, creating, and/or sharing time-shiftedcommentary tracks synced to any on-demand programming, according to anaspect of the invention. In particular, the invention may facilitate thepresentation of content items, annotations associated with the contentitems, or related items.

As used herein, “content items” may include movies, television episodes,portions or segments of movies or television episodes, video clips,songs, audio books, e-books, or other content items. A presentation of acontent item may be provided to a user via a content delivery servicesuch as, for example, NETFLIX, HULU, AMAZON INSTANT VIDEO, a cableprovider, a local service at a user device programmed to present contentitems stored locally at an electronic storage of the user device (e.g.,a hard drive, a CD, a DVD, etc.), or other content delivery service.Presentations of a content item may include reproductions of the contentitem that are of varying versions (e.g., extended versions, versionswith alternative endings or scenes, etc.), reproductions of the contentitem with auxiliary information (e.g., advertisements, warnings, etc.),or other presentations of the content item.

As used herein, “annotations” may include reviews, comments, ratings,markups, posts, links to other media, or other annotations. Annotationsmay be manually entered by a user for a content item (or a portionthereof), or automatically determined for the content item (or portionthereof) based on interactions of the user with the content item (orportion thereof), interactions of the user with other portions of thecontent item or other content items, or other parameters. Annotationsmay be manually entered or automatically determined for the content itemor the content item portion either before, during, or after apresentation of the content item. Annotations may be stored as data ormetadata, for example, in association with information indicative of thecontent item or the content item.

In some implementations, replies or other reactions to annotations maybe stored in association with the annotations, presented with theannotations during a presentation of a content item (with which theannotations are associated), used to initiate a conversation betweenusers, or handled in other ways. Among other benefits, replies (or otherreactions) and their corresponding annotations may be presented togetherduring respective portions of a content item that are relevant to thereply and annotation combinations. In addition, conversations may beinitiated between users regarding subject matter of mutual interest, andcontinued through a messaging service independent of an annotationservice or a content delivery service.

In various implementations, a first annotation (e.g., a comment) thatcorresponds to a portion of a content item may be obtained from adatabase, and presented when the portion of the content item ispresented to a user. The first annotation may, for instance, be receivedfrom another user during a prior presentation of the content item, andstored in the database. During a presentation of the content item to theuser, a second annotation may be received from the user as a reaction(e.g., reply) to the first annotation. Upon receipt, the secondannotation may be stored in the database in association with the firstannotation.

In some implementations, a first dataset (e.g., a track of annotations)that enables access to a first annotation may be obtained. The firstdataset may, for example, include an annotation identifier associatedwith the first annotation, a first reference time for the firstannotation, or other information. The first reference time maycorrespond to the same portion of a content item as the firstannotation, and may be utilized along with the annotation identifier topresent the first annotation when the corresponding portion ispresented. Upon receipt of a second annotation as a reaction to thefirst annotation during a presentation of the content item, the secondannotation may be stored in a database in association with the firstannotation. The storage of the second annotation may, for instance,result in the first dataset further enabling access to the secondannotation.

For example, in one implementation, the second annotation may be storedin the database with information indicating that the second annotationis a reaction to the first annotation. As an example, when the firstdataset is played during a presentation of the content item, the firstdataset may indicate that the first annotation is to be presented withits corresponding portion of the content item. Based on a query of thedatabase for the first annotation (e.g., using the annotation identifierof the first annotation), the second annotation may be obtained inaddition to the first annotation as a result of the second annotationbeing identified in the database as a reaction to the first annotation.Subsequently, both the first annotation and the second annotation may bepresented when the corresponding portion of the content item ispresented.

In another implementation, the first dataset may be updated to furtherenable access to the second annotation based on the receipt of thesecond annotation. For example, the first dataset may be updated tofurther include an annotation identifier associated with the secondannotation and information indicating that the second annotation is areaction to the first annotation.

In another implementation, other datasets that enable access to thefirst annotation may be updated such that the other datasets furtherenable access to the second annotation. As an example, two differentdataset that enable access to two different sets of annotations may bothbe updated when a user submits a reaction to an annotation common toboth dataset during playback of only one of the two dataset.

As discussed, in various implementations, a reply or other reaction toan annotation may initiate a conversation between users. For example, anannotation may be received from a first user during a first presentationof a content item, and stored in a database. The annotation maysubsequently be presented during a second presentation of the contentitem to a second user. During the second presentation, the second usermay “react” to the presented annotation by providing a reaction (e.g.,reply) to the annotation. In response to the reaction of the seconduser, the annotation and/or the reaction may be provided to the firstuser.

In one implementation, a message thread associated with the first userand the second user may be initiated when the second user provides thereaction. As an example, the message thread may be generated at amessaging service that is accessible to the first user and the seconduser. If, for instance, the first user's user device is logged into themessaging service, the annotation and the reaction may be provided tothe user device. As such, the reaction of the second user may initiate aconversation between the first and second users even if the first userhad not intended the annotation to be specifically for the second user,as well as without either user having to re-experience the portion ofthe content item to which the annotation corresponds.

In another implementation, the annotation and the reaction may beprovided to the first user via a social networking service. For example,the annotation and the reaction may be provided to the first user via asocial network service with which both users have accounts.

In another implementation, a social distance between the first user andthe second user within a social network may be utilized to determinewhether to provide the annotation and the reaction to the first user.For example, the if the social distance satisfies a particular socialdistance threshold, the annotation and the reaction may be provided tothe first user. On the other hand, if the social distance does notsatisfy the social distance threshold, the annotation and the reactionmay not be provided to the first user.

As discussed, in some implementations, a reaction to an annotation in adataset may result in the dataset be updated to include (or otherwisefurther enabling access to) the reaction. On the other hand, in otherimplementations, the annotation and the reaction may be provided to anauthoring user of the annotation without the dataset being updated toinclude (or otherwise enabling access to) the reaction.

Various other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will beapparent through the detailed description of the invention and thedrawings attached hereto. It is also to be understood that both theforegoing general description and the following detailed description areexemplary and not restrictive of the scope of the invention. As used inthe specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and“the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. In addition, as used in the specification and the claims, theterm “or” means “and/or” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a system for facilitating thepresentation of content items, annotations associated with the contentitems, or other related items, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIGS. 2A-2C are exemplary illustrations of a user interface at differenttimes during presentation of a content item, according to aspects of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary illustration of different presentations of acontent item, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIGS. 4A-4C are exemplary illustrations of user interfaces forpresenting a content item, interacting with the presentation of thecontent item, and/or interacting with a social networking service,according to aspects of the invention.

FIGS. 5A-5C are exemplary illustrations of user interfaces forpresenting a content item, interacting with the content item, and/orsharing a portion of the content item, according to aspects of theinvention.

FIGS. 6A-6C are exemplary illustrations of a user interface fortextually and/or graphically depicting information related toannotations at different times during a presentation of a content item,according to aspects of the invention.

FIGS. 7A-7C are exemplary illustrations of a user interface forpresenting a content item and annotations of a dataset related to thecontent item, according to aspects of the invention.

FIGS. 8A-8B are exemplary illustrations of a user interface that depictsmechanisms in annotations that enable transactions related to productsor services, according to aspects of the invention.

FIGS. 9A-9C are exemplary illustrations of a user interface for enablingreactions to annotations and/or initiating a message thread via a socialnetworking service, and a user interface for interacting with themessage thread via the social networking service, according to aspectsof the invention.

FIGS. 10A-10D are exemplary illustrations of a user interface depictingan intelligent presentation of user interface elements, according toaspects of the invention.

FIGS. 11A-11B are exemplary illustrations of user interfaces depictingpresentations of a content item to a group of users, according toaspects of the invention.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofcreating and maintaining a database of annotations corresponding toportions of a content item, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofgenerating annotations for a content item based on interactions of userswith presentations of the content item, according to an aspect of theinvention.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofproviding annotations corresponding to portions of a content item tosocial networking services, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofpresenting annotations corresponding to portions of a content itemduring a presentation of the content item, according to an aspect of theinvention.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating rewards for the creation of annotations, according to anaspect of the invention.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating rewards based on interactions with annotations, accordingto an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating rewards based on execution of transactions enabled viaannotations, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofproviding a dataset of annotations corresponding to portions of acontent item, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating rewards based on interactions with datasets, according toan aspect of the invention.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating rewards based on execution of transactions enabled viadatasets, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating the sharing of portions of a content item across differentcontent delivery services, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 23 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating the access of a portion of a content item, according to anaspect of the invention.

FIG. 24 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofenabling storage of reactions to annotations, according to an aspect ofthe invention.

FIG. 25 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofinitiating conversations between users based on reactions toannotations, according to an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 26 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method ofpresenting user interface elements based on relevancy, according to anaspect of the invention.

FIG. 27 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method offacilitating control of presentations of a content item to a group ofusers, according to an aspect of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the implementations of the invention. It will beappreciated, however, by those having skill in the art that theimplementations of the invention may be practiced without these specificdetails or with an equivalent arrangement. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form inorder to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the implementations of theinvention.

Exemplary System Description

FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a system 100 that may enable atime-shifted, on-demand vertical social network for watching, creating,and/or sharing time-shifted commentary tracks synced to any on-demandprogramming, according to an aspect of the invention. Particularly,system 100 may facilitate the presentation of content items, annotationsassociated with the content items, or other related items.

As used herein, “content items” may include movies, television episodes,portions or segments of movies or television episodes, video clips,songs, audio books, e-books, or other content items. A presentation of acontent item may be provided to a user via a content delivery servicesuch as, for example, NETFLIX, HULU, AMAZON INSTANT VIDEO, a cableprovider, a local service at a user device programmed to present contentitems stored locally at an electronic storage of the user device (e.g.,a hard drive, a CD, a DVD, etc.), or other content delivery service.Presentations of a content item may include reproductions of the contentitem that are of varying versions (e.g., extended versions, versionswith alternative endings or scenes, etc.), reproductions of the contentitem with auxiliary information (e.g., advertisements, warnings, etc.),or other presentations of the content item.

As used herein, “annotations” may include reviews, comments, ratings,markups, posts, links to other media, or other annotations. Annotationsmay be manually entered by a user for a content item (or a portionthereof), or automatically determined for the content item (or portionthereof) based on interactions of the user with the content item (orportion thereof), interactions of the user with other portions of thecontent item or other content items, or other parameters. Annotationsmay be manually entered or automatically determined for the content itemor the content item portion either before, during, or after apresentation of the content item. Annotations may be stored as data ormetadata, for example, in association with information indicative of thecontent item or the content item.

System 100 may include one or more computers and sub-systems to createand maintain a database of annotations corresponding to portions of acontent item, provide annotations corresponding to portions of a contentitem to social networking services, facilitate sharing of portions of acontent item, facilitate aggregation of annotations, modifypresentations of a content item based on annotations, selectively filterannotations, create datasets of annotations corresponding to portions ofa content item, incentivize creation of annotations or datasets ofannotations, manage replies or other reactions to annotations,intelligently present user interface elements, facilitate group controlof presentations of a content item, or otherwise enhance the experienceof users with respect to presentations of content items, annotations, orother related items.

As shown in FIG. 1, system 100 may comprise server 102 (or servers 102).Server 102 may comprise annotation subsystem 106, content referencesubsystem 108, account subsystem 110, interaction monitoring subsystem112, reward subsystem 114, content presentation subsystem 116, or othercomponents.

System 100 may further comprise a user device 104 (or multiple userdevices 104 a-104 n). User device 104 may comprise any type of mobileterminal, fixed terminal, or other device. By way of example, userdevice 104 may comprise a desktop computer, a notebook computer, anetbook computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a navigation device,an electronic book device, a gaming device, or other user device. Usersmay, for instance, utilize one or more user devices 104 to interact withserver 102 or other components of system 100. In some implementations,user device 104 may comprise user annotation subsystem 118, user contentpresentation subsystem 120, or other components.

It should be noted that while one or more operations are describedherein as being performed by components of server 102, those operationsmay, in some implementations, be performed by components of user device104. In addition, while one or more operations are described herein asbeing performed by components of user device 104, those operations may,in some implementations, be performed by components of service 102. Forexample, while server 102 may initiate storage of an annotation inassociation with a reference time corresponding to a portion of acontent item by providing the annotation, the reference time, and otherinformation (e.g., instructions for storage, other parameters, etc.) toan annotation database, user device 104 may initiate storage of anannotation in association with a reference time corresponding to aportion of a content item by providing the annotation, the referencetime, and other information to the server for storage at the annotationdatabase.

Server 102 and/or user device 104 may be communicatively coupled to oneor more content delivery services 122 a-122 n, social networkingservices 124 a-124 n, or other services. In one implementation, one ormore of content delivery services 122 a-122 n or social networkingservices 124 a-124 n may be hosted at server 102 and/or user device 104.For example, server 102 may host a content delivery service 122 toprovide users with access to content items or portions of content items.As another example, server 102 may host a social networking service 124to offer a social network through which users may interact with oneanother, other entities of the social network, content on the socialnetwork, etc. In another implementation, one or more of content deliveryservices 122 a-122 n or social networking services 124 a-124 n may behosted remotely from server 102 and/or user device 104.

In some implementations, the various computers and subsystemsillustrated in FIG. 1 may comprise one or more computing devices thatare programmed to perform the functions described herein. The computingdevices may include one or more electronic storages (e.g., electronicstorage 126 or other electric storages), one or more physical processorsprogrammed with one or more computer program instructions, and/or othercomponents. The computing devices may include communication lines, orports to enable the exchange of information with a network or othercomputing platforms. The computing devices may include a plurality ofhardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together toprovide the functionality attributed herein to the servers. For example,the computing devices may be implemented by a cloud of computingplatforms operating together as the computing devices.

The electronic storages may comprise non-transitory storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media of theelectronic storages may include one or both of system storage that isprovided integrally (e.g., substantially non-removable) with the serversor removable storage that is removably connectable to the servers via,for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive(e.g., a disk drive, etc.). The electronic storages may include one ormore of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.),magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic harddrive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g.,EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.),and/or other electronically readable storage media. The electronicstorages may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloudstorage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storageresources). The electronic storage may store software algorithms,information determined by the processors, information received from theservers, information received from client computing platforms, or otherinformation that enables the servers to function as described herein.

The processors may be programmed to provide information processingcapabilities in the servers. As such, the processors may include one ormore of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuitdesigned to process information, an analog circuit designed to processinformation, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronicallyprocessing information. In some implementations, the processors mayinclude a plurality of processing units. These processing units may bephysically located within the same device, or the processors mayrepresent processing functionality of a plurality of devices operatingin coordination. The processors may be programmed to execute computerprogram instructions to perform functions described herein of subsystems106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, or other subsystems. Theprocessors may be programmed to execute computer program instructions bysoftware; hardware; firmware; some combination of software, hardware, orfirmware; and/or other mechanisms for configuring processingcapabilities on the processors.

It should be appreciated that the description of the functionalityprovided by the different subsystems 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118,or 120 described herein is for illustrative purposes, and is notintended to be limiting, as any of subsystems 106, 108, 110, 112, 114,116, 118, or 120 may provide more or less functionality than isdescribed. For example, one or more of subsystems 106, 108, 110, 112,114, 116, 118, or 120 may be eliminated, and some or all of itsfunctionality may be provided by other ones of subsystems 106, 108, 110,112, 114, 116, 118, or 120. As another example, additional subsystemsmay be programmed to perform some or all of the functionality attributedherein to one of subsystems 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, or 120.

Attention will now be turned to a more detailed description of variousimplementations comprising one or more features relating to facilitatingthe presentation of content items, annotations associated with thecontent items, or other related items. It should be noted that featuresdescribed herein may be implemented separately or in combination withone another.

Creating and Maintaining a Database of Annotations

In various implementations, a database of annotations that correspond toportions of a content item may be created and/or maintained. By way ofexample, the database of annotations may comprise annotations receivedduring presentations of a content item that are provided via at leastfirst and/or second content delivery services. An annotation in thedatabase may, for instance, correspond to a time at which a firstportion of a content item is presented via the first content deliveryservice (e.g., NETFLIX), and another annotation in the database maycorrespond to a time at which a second portion of the content item ispresented via the second content delivery service (e.g., HULU). Theannotations may be stored in the database respectively in associationwith reference times that correspond to portions of the content item. Inthis way, reference times associated with annotations may be utilized toprovide the annotations such that the annotations are presented in atime-synchronized fashion with corresponding portions of a content item(e.g., for which the annotations are received) during subsequentpresentations of the content item. As such, annotations that aresubmitted by prior users (e.g., prior viewers, listeners, etc.) duringprior presentations of the content item may be presented to subsequentusers as the subsequent users are experiencing corresponding portions ofthe content item (e.g., portions that correspond to reference timesassociated with the annotations). Among other benefits, reactions ofusers to portions of the content item (e.g., captured in the form ofannotations) may be shared with other users regardless of the time atwhich the content item is experienced by users that submit theannotations, or regardless of the time at which the content item isexperienced by users that are presented with the submitted annotations.In this manner, users that experience a content item after annotationshave been submitted by other users can do so without having to worryabout prior annotations “spoiling” the user experience.

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C, reactions of users toportions of a content item may be shared with other users duringsubsequent presentations of the content item even though the reactionswere submitted (e.g., in the form of annotations) during priorpresentations of the content item. It should be appreciated that anynumber of annotations can be received from any number of users in anyorder. As such, any examples as set forth herein are for illustrativepurposes only, and not intended to be limiting.

In one use case, with respect to FIGS. 2A-2C, user interface 202 (e.g.,of an application hosted at server 102, of an application hosted at userdevice 104, etc.) may present a content item to a user. During thepresentation of the content item, user interface 202 may presentannotations (e.g., Annotations 1A, 1B, 2A, 3A, 3B, or other annotations)when portions of the content item that correspond to reference timesassociated with the annotations are presented. A first reference timeassociated with Annotations 1A and 1B may, for example, be representedby a first position of control element 204 on presentation time bar 206.A second reference time associated with Annotation 2A may be representedby a second position of control element 204 on presentation time bar206. A third reference time associated with Annotations 3A and 3B may berepresented by a third position of control element 204 on presentationtime bar 206.

As indicated in FIG. 2A, for example, Annotation 1A may have beensubmitted by User X as User X was watching a first portion (Portion A)of a content item that corresponds to a first reference time during apresentation of the content item provided via Content Delivery Service#1 (e.g., NETFLIX). Annotation 1B may have been submitted by User X asUser X was watching the first portion of the content item (thatcorresponds to the first reference time) during a presentation of thecontent item provided via Content Delivery Service #2 (e.g., HULU).

As indicated in FIG. 2B, Annotation 2A may have been submitted by User Yas User Y was watching a second portion (Portion B) of the content itemthat corresponds to a second reference time during a presentation of thecontent item provided via Content Delivery Service #3 (e.g., a localservice at User Y's user device that presents a DVD version of thecontent item).

As indicated in FIG. 2C, Annotation 3A may have been submitted by User Xas User X was watching a third portion (Portion C) of the content itemthat corresponds to a third reference time during a presentation of thecontent item provided via Content Delivery Service #1. Annotation 3B maybeen submitted by User Y as User Y was watching the third portion of thecontent item (that corresponds to the third reference time) during apresentation of the content item provided via Content Delivery Service#3. Nevertheless, despite the annotations being provided by users duringpresentations via different content delivery services, each ofAnnotations 1A, 1B, 2A, 3A, and 3B are presented when the correspondingportion of the content item (e.g., the corresponding portion for whichthe respective annotation was submitted) are presented.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, different content delivery services mayprovide different presentations of the same content item (e.g.,presentations 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, or other presentations). As anexample, differences among the presentations may comprise differentdurations of the presentations, different orders of portions of thecontent item or auxiliary information within the presentations of thecontent item, different durations of auxiliary information within thepresentations of the content item, different versions of the contentitem included in the presentations (e.g., extended versions, versionswith different endings, etc.), or other differences.

In one scenario, for instance, presentations 302, 304, and 306 maydiffer in duration from one another even though presentations 302, 304,and 306 include the same portions of a content item (e.g., the set ofcontent item portions 314) due to, for example, formatting or forvarious other reasons (e.g., inclusion of advertisements, warnings,etc.). For example, presentations 304 and 306 may include different setsof auxiliary information 316 and 318 (e.g., advertisements or otherauxiliary information) where the auxiliary information of the differentsets 316 and 318 are of different orders within their respectivepresentations and are of different duration. Presentations 308 and 310may include versions of the content item that are different than theversion of the content item in presentation 302, and are furtherdifferent from one another's version of the content item. For example,the version of the content item in presentation 308 include additionalportions 320 of the content item that are not in presentations 302 or310, and the version of the content item in presentation 310 includeadditional portions 322 that are not in presentation 302 or 308.

Nevertheless, in some implementations, reference times that correspondto portions of a content item may be utilized to present annotationsregardless of the differences between the presentations of the contentitem that were provided to annotating users when the users submitted theannotations. The reference times on which presentations of theannotations are based may, for example, comprise a master set ofreference times (e.g., reference set 312) with which other referencetimes (associated with different presentations) may be compared toidentify a reference time from the master set with which an annotationis to be associated. As an example, the master set may include masterreference times that correspond to portions of a content item where themaster reference times are independent of the content delivery servicethrough which a presentation of the content item is provided.

In one use case, with respect to FIG. 3, reference set 312 may representa master set of reference times associated with a content item. By wayof example, master reference time 1 in reference set 312 may correspondto reference time 1 of presentation 302, reference time 1 ofpresentation 304, reference time 3 of presentation 306, reference time 1of presentation 308, and reference time 1 of presentation 310. As such,annotations that are submitted by users at time 1 during presentation302, time 1 during presentation 304, time 3 during presentation 306,time 1 during presentation 308, and time 1 during presentation 310 mayall be stored in association with master reference time 1 correspondingto a first portion of the content item so that the annotations may bepresented during a subsequent presentation of the content item when thefirst portion is presented.

As another example, master reference time 6 may correspond to referencetime 6 of presentation 302, reference time 7 of presentation 304,reference time 9 of presentation 306, reference time 8 of presentation308, and reference time 8 of presentation 310. Annotations that aresubmitted by users at time 6 during presentation 302, time 7 duringpresentation 304, time 9 during presentation 306, time 8 duringpresentation 308, and time 8 during presentation 310 may all be storedin association with master reference time 6 corresponding to a secondportion of the content item so that the annotations may be presentedduring a subsequent presentation of the content item when the secondportion is presented.

As another example, master reference time 11 may correspond to referencetime 11 of presentation 302, reference time 13 of presentation 304,reference time 15 of presentation 306, reference time 13 of presentation308, and reference time 13 of presentation 310. As a result, annotationsthat are submitted by users at time 11 during presentation 302, time 13during presentation 304, time 15 during presentation 306, time 13 duringpresentation 308, and time 13 during presentation 310 may all be storedin association with master reference time 11 corresponding to a thirdportion of the content item so that the annotations may be presentedduring a subsequent presentation of the content item when the thirdportion is presented.

As yet another example, master reference time 16 may correspond toreference time 16 of presentation 302, reference time 19 of presentation304, reference time 20 of presentation 306, reference time 18 ofpresentation 308, and reference time 18 of presentation 310. As such,annotations that are submitted by users at time 16 during presentation302, time 19 during presentation 304, time 20 during presentation 306,time 18 during presentation 308, and time 18 during presentation 310 mayall be stored in association with master reference time 16 correspondingto a fourth portion of the content item so that the annotations may bepresented during a subsequent presentation of the content item when thefourth portion is presented.

As a further example, master reference time 21 may correspond toreference time 21 of presentation 302, reference time 24 of presentation304, reference time 25 of presentation 306, reference time 24 ofpresentation 308, and reference time 24 of presentation 310. Thus,annotations that are submitted by users at time 21 during presentation302, time 24 during presentation 304, time 25 during presentation 306,time 24 during presentation 308, and time 24 during presentation 310 mayall be stored in association with master reference time 21 correspondingto a fifth portion of the content item so that the annotations may bepresented during a subsequent presentation of the content item when thefifth portion is presented.

In another use case, with respect to FIG. 3, master reference set 312may comprise master reference times that correspond to the additionalportions of presentations 308 and 310. As an example, annotations thatare submitted by users at time 6 during presentation 308 may be storedin association with master reference time 22 (corresponding to theadditional portion presented at time 6 during presentation 308) so thatthe annotations may be presented during a subsequent presentation of thecontent item (if and) when the additional portion is presented.

As another example, annotations that are submitted by users at time 6during presentation 310 may be stored in association with masterreference time 25 (corresponding to the additional portion presented attime 6 during presentation 310) so that the annotations may be presentedduring a subsequent presentation of the content item (if and) when theadditional portion is presented. In this way, regardless of differencesof presentations that may be provided via different content deliveryservices, a set of annotations submitted for a portion of a content itemduring prior presentations of the content item may be presented during asubsequent presentation of the content item to a user when thesubsequent presentation to the user reaches the reference timecorresponding to the portion of the content item for which the set ofannotations are submitted.

In some implementations, a first presentation of a content item may beutilized as a reference (e.g., as the master reference) for otherpresentations of the content item. For example, portions of the contentitem in the first presentation may be mapped to corresponding portionsof the content item in a second presentation. The mapping of the firstand second presentations may then be utilized to store annotationsinputted during the second presentation in association with referencetimes corresponding to portions of the content item in the firstpresentation. When a subsequent presentation of the content item isinitiated, the reference times may be utilized to present theannotations when corresponding portions of the content item arepresented during the subsequent presentation by mapping the referencetimes to portions of the content item in the subsequent presentation.

In one scenario, for example, audio content recognition of a portion ofa movie may be performed in response to a comment submitted by a userwhen the portion of the movie was presented to the user. The result ofthe audio content recognition (e.g., an audio pattern, a visual pattern,or other result) may then be compared to stored reference patternsassociated with reference times corresponding to portions of the movieto identify the portion of the movie and the reference timecorresponding to that movie portion. Upon identification of thecorresponding reference time, the annotation may be stored inassociation with the reference time so that the reference time may beutilized in the future to present the annotation when the portion of themovie is presented during subsequent presentations of the movie.

According to an aspect of the invention, annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to receive a first annotation that corresponds to a time atwhich a first portion of a content item is presented via a first contentdelivery service, and/or receive a second annotation that corresponds toa time at which the first portion of the content item is presented via asecond content delivery service. The first and second annotations may,for example, be received at annotation subsystem 106 from one or moreuser devices at which the first and second annotations are inputted byone or more users.

In some implementations, the presentation via the first content deliveryservice may correspond to a first presentation that includes the firstportion of the content item. The presentation via the second contentdelivery service may correspond to a second presentation that includesthe first portion of the content item. The first presentation (providedvia the first content delivery service) and the second presentation(provided via the second content delivery service) may be the same ordifferent than one another. In one use case, the first presentation mayinclude a first portion of a content item but not a second portion ofthe content item, while the second presentation may include both thefirst and the second portions of the content item. As shown in FIG. 3,for example, presentation 302 may not include additional portion 320,while presentation 308 does include additional portion 320.

In another use case, the first presentation may include the firstportion of the content item and first auxiliary information (e.g., firstadvertisement), and the second presentation may include the firstportion of the content item and second auxiliary information (e.g.,second advertisement). As shown in FIG. 3, for example, presentation 304may include a first set of auxiliary information 316, while presentation306 may include a second set of auxiliary information 318.

In various implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto initiate storage of the first annotation in association with a firstreference time that corresponds to the first portion of the contentitem, and/or initiate storage of the second annotation in associationwith the first reference time. In some implementations, annotationsubsystem 106 may be programmed to receive a third annotationcorresponding to a time at which a second portion of the content item ispresented (e.g., via the first content delivery service, the secondcontent delivery service, or a third content delivery service), andinitiate storage of the third annotation in association with a secondreference time corresponding to the second portion of the content item.In addition, in one implementation, the annotations may be stored inassociation with other information, such as an identifier of the contentitem for which the annotation is submitted, identifiers of the sourcesfrom which the annotations are received, an identifier of the contentdelivery service that provided the presentation of the content itemduring which the annotation is submitted by a user, or otherinformation.

In some implementations, content reference subsystem 108 may beprogrammed to identify a set of reference times corresponding toportions of the content item. Content reference subsystem 108 may beprogrammed to identify, based on the set of reference times, the firstreference time as a reference time for the first annotation, the firstreference time as a reference time for the second annotation, and/or thesecond reference time as a reference time for the third annotation. Uponidentification of the respective reference times, the annotations may bestored in association with the respective reference times and/or otherinformation (e.g., an identifier of the content item, identifiers of thesources from which the annotations are received, an identifier of thecontent delivery service that provided the presentation of the contentitem, etc.). As an example, at least one of the first or secondpresentations of the content item may be associated with another set ofreference times that correspond to portions of the first and/or secondpresentations. As such, content reference subsystem 108 may correlatethe identified set of reference times with the other set of referencetimes to determine a mapping between the reference times of the twodifferent set of reference times. The mapping may then be utilized toidentify the first reference time as a reference time for the firstannotation, the first reference time as a reference time for the secondannotation, and/or the second reference time as a reference time for thethird annotation.

In one use case, with respect to FIG. 3, content reference subsystem 108may utilize the reference times of presentation 302 as at least part ofa master set of reference times corresponding to portions of the contentitem with which other sets of reference times are mapped. For example,annotation subsystem 106 may receive, from user device 104, anannotation inputted via user device 104 during presentation 304 andinformation indicating that the annotation is associated with referencetime 7 of presentation 304 (e.g., the annotation was inputted at time 7during presentation 304, the annotation was inputted for a portion ofpresentation 304 that corresponds to time 7, etc.). Content referencesubsystem 108 may then identify reference time 6 of presentation 302 asa reference time for the annotation based on a determination that theannotation is associated with reference time 7 of presentation 304.Annotation subsystem 106 may thereafter store the annotation inassociation with reference time 6.

In certain implementations, first and second annotations may be storedin association with a first reference time corresponding to a firstportion of a content item. A third annotation may be stored inassociation with a second reference time corresponding to a secondportion of the content item. As such, in some implementations,annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed to provide, based on thefirst reference time, the first annotation such that the firstannotation is presented when the first portion of the content item ispresented during a subsequent presentation of the content item.Annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed to provide, based on thefirst reference time, the second annotation such that the secondannotation is presented when the first portion of the content item ispresented during the subsequent presentation. Annotation subsystem 106may be programmed to provide, based on the second reference time, thethird annotation such that the third annotation is presented when thesecond portion of the content item is presented during the subsequentpresentation of the content item.

In various implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto identify one or more annotations of a first user regarding a contentitem, for example, in response to an initiation of a presentation of thecontent item by a second user associated with the first user (e.g., thesecond user may be a friend of the first user in a social network, acontact of the first user, or associated with the first user in somemanner). In one scenario, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 maydetect the initiation of a presentation of the content item by thesecond user. Upon detection, annotation subsystem 106 may be caused toidentify stored annotations of the second user's friends (e.g.,including annotations of the first user) in a social network, andtransmit the annotations to a user device of the second user for displayduring the presentation of the content item to the second user.

In certain implementations, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to monitor interactions of users with presentations of acontent item, and/or determine a characteristic of the content itembased on the interactions. Annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed togenerate an annotation for the content item based on the characteristic.In some implementations, content reference subsystem 108 may beprogrammed to identify, based on the interactions, a reference time forthe annotation. Annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed to initiatestorage of the annotation in association with the reference time.

As an example, with respect to FIGS. 2 A-2C, interaction monitoringsubsystem 112 may determine that a majority of users that watch ContentItem 1 activate the “Share Scene” button 212 to share a particularportion (e.g., Portions A, B, C, or other portions) with other users. Asa result, annotation subsystem 106 may generate the comment (orannotation) “This portion is frequently shared!” and store the commentin association with a reference time corresponding to the frequentlyshared portion. Thus, when the frequently shared portion is subsequentlypresented to other users, the comment that the portion is frequencyshared may encourage the other users to share the portion to theircontacts.

In another use case, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may determinethat a majority of users skip over a particular scene in a movie whenwatching the movie. As a result, annotation subsystem 106 may generatethe comment (or annotation) “This scene is often skipped over” and storethe comment in association with a reference time corresponding to thefrequently shared portion. Thus, when the often-skipped-over portion issubsequently presented to other users, the comment that the portion isoften skipped over may inform the other users that the portion may notbe worth watching.

In another user case, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may determinethat a significant number of a user's “friends” (or other associated setof users) watched a particular episode within a certain time period(e.g., 10% of the user's friends in a social network watched the episodewithin the last 24 hours). As such, annotation subsystem 106 maygenerate the comment (or annotation) “This episode has recently beenreally popular with your friends!” and store the comment in associationwith the episode. As a result, the comment that the episode has recentlybeen really popular may be presented to the user before, during, orafter the user watches the episode. For example, the comment may bepresented to the user when the user is deciding what episode to watch,when the user is shown a promotion for the episode, when the userinitiates a presentation of the episode, at the end of or after thepresentation of the episode, or at other times. Other thresholds ofviewership may be used (e.g., 20%, 30%, etc.) to trigger such a comment.Further, a similar comment may be generated based on total viewership(e.g., for all viewers—not necessarily limited to a subset of users(such as friends)).

In another user case, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may determinethat a user has binge-watched every episode of a particular show forseason during a weekend. As a result, annotation subsystem 106 maygenerate a comment (or annotation) indicating that the user hasbinge-watched every episode of the season during a single weekend, andstore the comment in association with one or more of the episodes.Subsequently, when the user's friends watch an episode of the season,they may be presented with the comment to encourage them to continuewatching the rest of the episodes of the season, or other comment notingthe captivating nature of the show.

Providing Annotations to Social Networking Services

According to an aspect of the invention, users may be enabled to provideannotations received during presentations of a content item (and/orother information related to the content item) to a plurality of socialnetworking services (e.g., FACEBOOK, TWITTER, etc.).

In certain implementations, user device 104 may be programmed toinitiate a presentation of a content item. For example, with respect toFIGS. 4A-4B, a user may execute an application installed on user device104 to launch user interface 202. User interface 202 may enable the userto initiate a presentation of a content item on user interface 202and/or user interface 402 (e.g., using the play feature of theplay/pause button 208). In one scenario, for instance, user interface202 may be used to display and control a presentation of a content item,view annotations corresponding to portions of the content item duringthe presentation of the content item, input annotations for portions ofthe content item, or perform other operations.

In another scenario, user interface 402 may be used to display apresentation of a content item, and user interface 202 may enable asecond screen experience for the user. For example, user interface 202may enable the user to control the presentation of the content item(displayed on user interface 402), view annotations corresponding toportions of the content item during the presentation of the contentitem, input annotations for portions of the content item, or performother operations. User interface 202 may, for instance, be a userinterface that is displayed on user device 104, while user interface 402may be a user interface that is displayed on another user device.

In various implementations, user device 104 may be programmed to receivea first annotation at a time during which a first portion of the contentitem is presented, initiate storage of the first annotation inassociation with a first reference time corresponding to the firstportion of the content item, and/or provide the first annotation to afirst social networking service. In some implementations, user device104 may be programmed to receive a second annotation at a time duringwhich a second portion of the content item is presented, initiatestorage of the second annotation in association with a second referencetime corresponding to the second portion of the content item, and/orprovide the second annotation to a second social networking service.

As an example, with respect to FIG. 4B, user interface 202 may providean “Add Annotation” button 210 that enables a user to submit anannotation corresponding to a portion of Content Item 1 that iscurrently being presented to the user (e.g., Portions A, B, C, or otherportion). Upon activation of button 210, user interface 202 may providethe user with an annotation window 404 where the user may enter theuser's reaction to (or comment concerning) a portion of the content itemand/or select a thumbs-up or thumbs-down (or other “like” or “dislike”indication) rating for the portion of the content item. Annotationwindow 404 may further enable the user to submit the annotationcomprising at least one of the textual reaction or thethumbs-up/thumbs-down rating to one or more of Social NetworkingServices #1, 2, 3, 4, etc. In one use case, as illustrated in userinterface 406 of FIG. 4C, the user has submitted via user interface 202both the textual reaction and a thumbs-up rating to Social NetworkingService #3. The submission may, for example, cause the textual reactionand the thumbs-up rating to appear on user interface 406 (e.g., theuser's page on Social Networking Service #3), along with storage of thetextual reaction and the thumbs-up rating in association with areference time that corresponds to the portion of the content item thatwas presented to the user when button 210 was activated.

In a further use case, the user in the above example (depicted in FIGS.4A-4C) may submit another annotation at a later time during thepresentation of Content Item 1 by activating the “Add Annotation” button210 at the later time, and submitting an annotation via annotationwindow 404. The user may, however, choose to submit the later annotationto another social networking service (e.g., Social Network Services #1,2, or 4) different than the social networking service to which theearlier annotation was submitted (e.g., Social Networking Service #3).Upon submission by the user, the later annotation may appear on a page(or interface) of the chosen social networking service, as well asstored in association with a reference time that corresponds to theportion of the content item presented at the later time.

In another use case, user interface 202 may enable a user to provide anannotation for a content item (and other information related to thecontent item) to a social networking service. For example, when a usersubmits an annotation to a social networking service (e.g., SocialNetworking Services #1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) during a presentation of thecontent item, an application associated with user interface 202 mayprovide the annotation along with an identifier of the user, anidentifier of the content item for which the annotation is submitted, anidentifier of the content delivery service through which thepresentation is provided, a reference time corresponding to a portion ofthe content item for which the annotation is submitted, a link to theportion of the content item, or other information. As a further example,if a link to the portion of the content item is provided along with theannotation to Social Networking Service #3, the link may be posted alongwith the annotation on the user's page at Social Networking Service #3.As such, other users having access to the user's page may utilize thelink to jump to the portion of the content item using a content deliveryservice that is available to the other users to see the portion of thecontent item to which the user's annotation is related.

Sharing Portions of a Content Item

According to an aspect of the invention, a user may share access toportions of a content item across a plurality of content deliveryservices. For example, a sharing user may share access to a portion of acontent item to a recipient user even when the sharing user and therecipient user do not have access to the same content delivery service(e.g., the sharing user uses NETFLIX while the recipient user usesHULU).

In various implementations, content presentation subsystem 116 may beprogrammed to receive, during a first presentation of a content item viaa first content delivery service, a request to provide information toenable access to a first portion of the content item. Contentpresentation subsystem 116 may be programmed to associate a firstreference time with the first portion of the content item. The firstreference time may, for example, correspond to a time at which the firstportion of the content item is presented via the first content deliveryservice. Content presentation subsystem 116 may be programmed togenerate, based on the first reference time, reference information thatenables access to the first portion of the content item in a secondpresentation of the content item via a second content delivery service.

In some implementations, content presentation subsystem 116 may beprogrammed to receive the request from a first user device associatedwith a first user (e.g., user device 104 a), and/or provide thereference information to a second user device associated with a seconduser (e.g., user device 104 b) such that the reference informationenables the second user to access the first portion of the content itemvia the second content delivery service. In one use case, the referenceinformation may be independent of the content delivery service that maybe used by the second user to access the first portion of the contentitem. The reference information may, for example, indicate the contentitem (e.g., content item identifier), the first reference time, thefirst portion (e.g., scene identifier determined based on the firstreference time), or other information. The indication of the contentitem and at least one of the indications of the first reference time orthe first portion may be utilized to access the first portion of thecontent item via the secondary content delivery service.

In another use case, the reference information may be specific to thesecond content delivery service (e.g., a direct link to the firstportion of the content item stored at the second content deliveryservice or other reference information). For example, a content itemidentifier of the content item and the first reference time may beprocessed to determine a presentation-specific start reference time whenthe first portion of the content item is presented via the secondcontent delivery service. The reference information may then begenerated to indicate the content item, the presentation-specificreference time, the second content delivery service, or otherinformation.

By way of example, with respect to FIGS. 5 A-5B, a presentation ofContent Item 1 via Content Delivery Service #1 may be displayed on userinterface 202 and/or user interface 402. As shown, in FIG. 5B, userinterface 202 may provide a “Share Scene” button 212 that enables a userto share a portion of Content Item 1 with other users. Upon activationof button 212, user interface 202 may provide the user with a recipientselection window 502 where the user may select a recipient user from adrop-down menu, or enter a recipient user's email address.

In one use case, in response to a selection of a recipient user (e.g.,using the drop-down menu, the recipient's email address, etc.), userdevice 104 may generate a request to provide the recipient user withinformation to enable the recipient user to access Portion B of ContentItem 1 (e.g., Portion B was playing or presented when button 212 wasactivated, Portion B corresponds to a start and/or end time manuallyentered by the user, etc.). Thereafter, user device 104 may transmit therequest to server 202. The request may include an item identifierassociated with Content Item 1, a start reference time corresponding toPortion B, an end reference time corresponding to Portion B, a portionidentifier associated with Portion B, or other information.

Upon receipt of the request from user device 104, content presentationsubsystem 116 may process the request to generate a link (or otherreference information) associated with Portion B. The portion link may,for instance, be independent of the content delivery service that therecipient user may utilize to access Portion B. As shown in userinterface 504, an automated message comprising a portion link (e.g., thehyperlink embedded in “CLICK HERE”) is provided to the recipient user toenable the recipient user to access Portion B of Content Item 1 viaContent Delivery Service #2. The portion link may, for instance, includethe link“http://CDSIndepentSite.com/[CI1_ID]/[Master_Ref_Time_Corr_To_Portion_B]”or other link. As an example, clicking on the portion link may cause therecipient user's device to execute an application associated withContent Delivery Service #2 and begin rendering a presentation ofContent Item 1 at a time corresponding to a start time of Portion B.

In another use case, a selection of a recipient user using user device104 may be received by user device 104 as a request to provide therecipient user with information to enable the recipient user to accessto Portion B of Content Item 1. User device 104 may then generate a link(or other reference information) to Portion B (e.g., a portion link thatis independent of the content delivery service that the recipient usermay utilize to access Portion B). User device 104 may thereaftertransmit the portion link as part of a message (e.g., via email, shortmessage service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), socialnetworking service, etc.) to the recipient user. The message maycomprise the portion link along with other information. As an example,when the recipient user clicks on the portion link, the recipient user'sdevice may execute an application associated with Content DeliveryService #2 and begin rendering a presentation of Content Item 1 at atime corresponding to a start time of Portion B.

As discussed, in some implementations, content presentation subsystem116 may be programmed to receive, during a first presentation of acontent item via a first content delivery service, a request to provideinformation to enable access to a first portion of the content item. Insome implementations, content reference subsystem 108 may be programmedto identify a set of reference times corresponding to portions of thecontent item (e.g., a master set of reference times). Content referencesubsystem 108 may be programmed to identify which reference time of theset of reference times corresponds to the first portion of the contentitem. Upon identification of the corresponding reference time (for thefirst portion), reference information that enables access to a secondpresentation of the content item via a second content delivery servicemay be generated based on the corresponding reference time.

As an example, at least one of the first or second presentations of thecontent item may be associated with another set of reference times thatcorrespond to portions of the first and/or second presentations. Theidentified set of reference times may, for instance, include masterreference times that correspond to portions of the content itemindependently of a content delivery service, while the other set ofreference times include reference times that are specific to apresentation of the content item provided via a content deliveryservice. As such, content reference subsystem 108 may correlate theidentified set of reference times with the other set of reference timesto determine a mapping between the reference times of the two differentset of reference times. The mapping may then be utilized to identify acorresponding master reference for the first portion of the contentitem.

In one use case, with respect to FIG. 3, content reference subsystem 108may utilize the reference times of presentation 302 as at least part ofa master set of reference times corresponding to portions of the contentitem with which other sets of reference times are mapped. For example,content presentation subsystem 116 may receive, from user device 104, arequest to share a link to a scene of the content item that correspondsto a start time 7 and an end time 8 of presentation 304. Contentreference subsystem 108 may identify reference time 6 of presentation302 as a start reference time for the scene and reference time 7 ofpresentation 302 as an end reference time for the scene based on adetermination that the scene corresponds to start time 7 and end time 8of presentation 304. An identifier of the content item, reference time 6of presentation 302, and reference time 7 of presentation 302 may beutilized to generate the scene link.

As discussed, in some implementations, content presentation subsystem116 may be programmed to generate reference information that is specificto a content delivery service. For example, upon receipt of a requestfrom a first user to provide reference information to enable a seconduser to access a first portion of a content item, content presentationsubsystem 116 may identify a content delivery service through whichaccess to the first portion of the content item is available to a seconduser. The content delivery service may, for instance, be identifiedbased on a determination that the second user has an account associatedwith the content delivery service. Content presentation subsystem 116may be programmed to generate the reference information based on a firstreference time corresponding to the first portion of the content itemand the identification of the content delivery service.

In one scenario, for example, content presentation subsystem 116 mayobtain account information associated with the second user thatidentifies content delivery service(s) with which the second user hasaccount(s). After determining that the second user has an account with agiven content delivery service, content presentation subsystem 116 maygenerate the reference information specifically for the given contentdelivery service based on a first reference time corresponding to thefirst portion of the content item.

Accessing Portions of a Content Item

According to an aspect of the invention, a user may access a portion ofa content item via a content delivery service based on referenceinformation. For example, in some implementations, a portion of acontent item may be accessed via a content delivery service based onreference information that is independent of the content deliveryservice to access the portion of the content item. The same referenceinformation may, for example, be utilized to access a portion of acontent item via different content delivery services.

In some implementations, user content presentation subsystem 120 may beprogrammed to receive reference information related to a first portionof a content item. In one implementation, the reference information maybe generated based on a user input that occurred during a firstpresentation of the content item via a first content delivery service(e.g., NETFLIX). The user input and/or a time of the user input may, forexample, correspond to a presentation-specific reference time at whichthe first portion of the content item is presented during the firstpresentation. The reference information may then be generated based onthe presentation-specific reference time to include informationindicating the content item (e.g., content item identifier), the firstportion (e.g., scene identifier), the presentation-specific referencetime, a master reference time corresponding to the presentation-specificreference time, or other information.

In some implementations, user content presentation subsystem 120 may beprogrammed to identify a second content delivery service (e.g., HULU)through which access to the first portion of the content item (in asecond presentation of the content item) is available. User contentpresentation subsystem 120 may be programmed to provide, based on thereference information, the first portion of the content item (in thesecond presentation) via the second content delivery service.

In one implementation, for example, the reference information may begenerated based on input from a first user during the first presentationof the content item. User content presentation subsystem 120 may beprogrammed to identify a second user to which the first portion of thecontent item (in the second presentation) is to be provided. Based onthe identification of the second user, user content presentationsubsystem 120 may identify the second content delivery service as acontent delivery service through which access to the first portion ofthe first content item (in the second presentation of the first contentitem) is available to the second user.

As an example, user content presentation subsystem 120 may identifycontent delivery service(s) with which that the second user has anaccount. Based on the identified content delivery service(s), usercontent presentation subsystem 120 may determine which (if any) of thecontent delivery service(s) provide access to the first portion of thecontent item. If, for instance, one of the identified content deliveryservice(s) provide access to the first portion of the content item, thenthe content delivery service (e.g., the second content delivery service)may be identified as a content delivery service that the second user canuse to access the first portion of the content item (e.g., and, thus,available to the second user).

In another implementation, when reference information that is generatedbased on user input during a first presentation of a content item via afirst content delivery service (e.g., NETFLIX) is received, user contentpresentation subsystem 120 may identify a second content deliveryservice (e.g., HULU) through which access to the first portion of thecontent item (in a second presentation of the content item) isavailable. The first portion of the content item may then be providedvia the second content delivery service based on a reference time of thefirst presentation, a reference time of the second presentation thatcorresponds to the reference time of the first presentation, or anidentifier associated with the first portion of the first content item.As further described in the use cases below, for example, the referencetime of the first presentation, the reference time of the secondpresentation, or the first-portion identifier may be determined from thereference information and utilized to access the first portion of thecontent item via the second content delivery service.

In one use case, the reference information may include a content itemidentifier associated with the content item, and a firstpresentation-specific reference time at which the first portion of thecontent item is presented during the first presentation. Uponidentification of the second content delivery service, user contentpresentation subsystem 120 may use information indicating the contentitem to identify a mapping of portions of the first presentation toportions of the second presentation (e.g., the mapping of portions ofpresentation 302 to portion of presentations 304 in FIG. 3, the mappingof other portions shown in FIG. 3, etc.). The firstpresentation-specific reference time and the mapping may then beutilized to identify a second presentation-specific reference time atwhich the first portion of the content item is presented during thesecond presentation. User content presentation subsystem 120 may executean application associated with the second content delivery service(e.g., HULU application), and utilize the content item identifier andthe second presentation-specific reference time with the application tojump to the first portion of the content item in the second presentationprovided via the second content delivery service.

In another use case, the reference information may include an identifierassociated with the content item and a scene identifier (or otherportion identifier) associated with the first portion of the contentitem. Upon identifying the second content delivery service for thesecond user, user content presentation subsystem 120 may execute anapplication associated with the second content delivery service (e.g.,HULU application). User content presentation subsystem 120 may thenutilize the content item identifier and the scene identifier with theapplication to jump to the first portion of the content item in thesecond presentation provided via the second content delivery service.

Aggregation of Annotations

According to an aspect of the invention, annotations may be aggregatedto determine an overall experience of a user or a group of users withvarious presentation aspects (e.g., portions of a content item, theoverall content item, individual annotations, a set of annotations,etc.). The overall experience may then, for example, be displayed tousers during a presentation of the portions of the content item, theoverall content item, the individual annotations, the set ofannotations, etc. In this way, among other benefits, a user may be ableto see how other users (e.g., the user's friends, the user's familymembers, the user's co-workers, users within the user's social network,or all system users, etc.) reacted to various presentation aspects asthe user is experiencing the presentation aspects.

In certain implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto identify annotations associated with one or more parameters, and/orprocess the identified annotations to determine one or more statisticswith respect to various presentation aspects (e.g., the portions of thecontent item, the overall content item, the individual annotations, theset of annotations, etc.). The parameters may, for example, includeannotation types, sources (e.g., authors or other sources), annotationset identifiers, social distances, user relationship status, spatialproximity, temporal proximity, or other parameters. The parameters maybe manually selected by a user, or automatically selected for the userbased on configurable system settings.

In one use case, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C, annotations may beaggregated based on annotation type. As an example, numerical ratingsassociated with portions of a content item may be aggregated for each ofthe portions of the content item, normalized (e.g., a rating based on a1-10 rating scale may be converted to a rating based on a 1-5 ratingscale), and averaged to produce an average rating for each portion. Asshown in the interfaces depicted in FIGS. 6A-6C, a first portion of thecontent item may be associated with an average rating of 4.6/5, a secondportion of the content item may be associated with an average rating of4.2/5, a third portion of the content item may be associated with anaverage rating of 4.3/5, and so on. It should be appreciated that theforegoing values, ranges, etc., are exemplary in nature, and should notbe viewed as limiting.

As another example, comments associated with portions of a content itemmay be aggregated and analyzed to determine a common characteristicassociated with each of the portions of the content item. Acharacteristic may, for example, be determined to be a commoncharacteristic based on a determination that terms associated with thecharacteristic are included in the most number of the aggregatedcomments, that the terms associated with the characteristic appear themost frequently in the aggregated comments, etc. For example, asdepicted in FIGS. 6A-6C, the characteristic “funny” is determined to bethe most common characteristic for first, second, and third portions(Portions A, B, and C) of the content item. Terms associated with thecharacteristic “funny” may, for example, include synonyms of “funny” orother related terms.

In another use case, annotations may be aggregated based on authorship.As an example, if a user selects to only be presented with annotationsfrom cast or crew members of a television episode or movie (or othercontent item) for which the annotations are submitted, then each of theaggregated annotations may be annotations authored by actors, actresses,directors, producers, or other cast or crew members of the televisionepisode or movie.

In another use case, annotations may be aggregated based on socialdistances between authors of the annotations and a user satisfying aspecified social distance threshold. Each of the aggregated annotationsmay, as an example, be annotations authored by other users that are atmost 2 connections away from the user in a social network (e.g., friendsof friends, two degrees away, etc.). The social distance threshold maybe specified by a user.

In another use case, annotations may be aggregated based on authors ofthe annotations having a particular relationship with a user. Each ofthe aggregated annotations may, for example, be annotations authored byother users that are “friends” of the user in a social network (e.g.,rather than an “acquaintance,” a “colleague,” etc.). As used herein, auser relationship (of one user with another user) may refer to one ormore definitions of how a user knows, knows of, or is connected to theother user. For example, a first user may have a user relationship witha second user based on the first user being a “friend,” “co-worker,”“family relative,” etc., of the second user. As another example, a firstuser may have a user relationship with a second user based on the firstuser “following” the social media posts of the second user, the firstuser being a “fan” of the second user, etc. The user relationships maybe user-defined, or automatically defined.

In another use case, annotations may be aggregated based on authors ofthe annotations being associated with a location that is a thresholddistance away from a user location. Each of the aggregated annotationsmay, for example, be annotations authored by other users that arecurrently within a particular distance from the current location of theuser, that live within a particular distance from the user's residence,etc.

In another use case, annotations may be aggregated based on theannotations being submitted within a particular time period. As anexample, each of the aggregated annotations may be annotations submittedduring a time period when the content item was the most popular.Comments (or annotations) that are aggregated may be limited to commentsprovided when a television episode originally aired (e.g., to excludecomments submitted during re-runs), comments during a time periodassociated with a season (e.g., during a given season of a televisionseries when the episode first aired), commented provided during aspecified date range, etc.

In some implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toprovide statistics associated with aggregated annotations. For example,the statistics may be presented to a user during a presentation of acontent item to the user. In one scenario, as shown in FIG. 6C,statistics, such as an average rating, a common characteristic, etc.,may be presented to a user during a presentation of a content item tothe user in the form of text.

In another scenario, as depicted on time bar 602 of FIG. 6C, statisticsmay be graphically presented to a user during a presentation of acontent item. As an example, the statistics may be presented in the formof a line graph, a heat map, or other graphical representation. The linegraph on time bar 602, a heat map, or other graphical representationmay, for instance, depict a degree of a characteristic corresponding toportions of the content item (e.g., a high point on the line graph mayindicate a very funny portion, a low point on the graph may indicate anon-funny portion, a hot color on the heat map may indicate a verypopular portion, a cold color on the map may indicate an unpopularportion, etc.).

In some implementations, statistics (or other information) associatedwith aggregated annotations may be provided to various third partyentities in exchange for compensation or other reasons. As an example,statistics regarding viewership of a television show (or other contentitem) or portions thereof may be provided to NIELSEN or other entity.

Filtered Presentation of Content Items

According to an aspect of the invention, portions of a content item maybe presented based on annotations for the content item. For example, apresentation of a content item may be based on annotations correspondingto portions of the content item and preferences of a user (e.g.,selected by the user, inferred for the user, etc.) related to thecontent item portions and/or the annotations. In one scenario, forinstance, portions of a content item may be removed from a presentationof the content item based on annotations for the portions indicatingthat the portions do not satisfy conditions related to the user'spreferences (e.g., a user preference may indicate an aversion toviolence, nudity, profanity, adult themes, etc.). In another scenario,playback of a first set of portions of a content item may be skipped,fast-forwarded, censored, blurred, decreased in volume, or otherwiseadjusted during a presentation of the content item based on annotationsfor the portions of the first set indicating that the portions of thefirst set do not satisfy conditions related to the user's preferences.Playback of a second set of portions of the content item may be enhancedor occur normally during the presentation of the content item based onannotations for the portions of the second set indicating that theportions of the second set satisfy conditions related to the user'spreferences. In this way, among other benefits, annotations for acontent item may be utilized to enable a user (or other entity) tocontrol or modify a presentation of the content item. Parents may, forexample, censor their children from portions of a content item that areindicated by corresponding annotations as indecent or otherwise not forchildren, users may set their preferences to skip portions of a contentitem that are indicated by corresponding annotations as having anundesirable characteristic (e.g., boring, romantic, gruesome, or othercharacteristics that a user may deem undesirable), etc.

In one example, with respect to FIGS. 6 A-6C, annotations correspondingto portions of Content Item 1 may be automatically obtained when a userinitiates a presentation of Content Item 1 (e.g., detection of theuser's request to play Content Item 1 may trigger a request for theannotations). Playback of scenes of Content Item 1 may be skipped,fast-forwarded, or sped up if the scenes are associated with an averagerating of less than 4/5. In another use case, playback of scenes ofContent Item 1 may be skipped, fast-forwarded, or sped up if the scenesare not deemed as funny by at least a threshold number (e.g., fixednumber or percentage) of users that submit comments for the scenes.Users may, for example, indicate desired ratings (e.g., only 4/5 orhigher), threshold numbers, or other parameter via user-configurablesettings. Other modification related to the presentation may of coursebe implemented.

In another example, when a user initiates a presentation of a contentitem, the user may be presented with a set of tracks (associated withthe content item) from which to select. Upon selection of a track, thecontent item may be presented in accordance with annotations of theselected track. In yet another example, a selection of a track by a usermay trigger a presentation of a content item (to which annotations ofthe track corresponds) to be initiated. Upon initiation, the contentitem may be presented in accordance with annotations of the selectedtrack.

Filtered Presentation of Annotations

According to an aspect of the invention, annotations may be selectivelypresented to a user based on one or more parameters. The parameters may,for instance, include annotation types, sources (e.g., authors or othersources), annotation set identifiers, social distances, userrelationship status, spatial proximity, temporal proximity, or otherparameters. The parameters may be manually selected by a user, orautomatically selected.

In various implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto provide annotations to user device 104 based on one or moreparameters associated with a user. In some implementations, user device104 may selectively present annotations (e.g., from annotation subsystem106 or other component) to a user during a presentation of a contentitem to the user based on one or more parameters associated with theuser.

As an example, a user may specify that he/she only desires to bepresented with numerical ratings (e.g., out of 5 stars, on a 1-10 scale,etc., as opposed to comments, likes/dislikes, etc.). As such, the usermay only be provided with numerical ratings. It should be appreciatedthat the foregoing values, ranges, etc., are exemplary in nature, andshould not be viewed as limiting.

As another example, particular authors of annotations may be selectedfor a user based on historical information associated with the user.Selected authors may, for instance, be chosen based on a determinationthat the authors are similar to authors that the user likes (e.g., theselected authors and the authors liked by the user have similarpreferences for content items, annotations from the selected authors aresimilar in character to annotations from the authors liked by the user,etc.). As a result, the user may only be provided with annotations fromthe selected authors during presentation of a content item.

As another example, a user may specify a social distance threshold(e.g., a number of connections away from the user) that authors ofannotations must fall within in order for their annotations to bepresented to the user. Thus, the user may only be provided withannotations from authors within the social distance threshold.

Creating Annotation Tracks or Other Annotation Datasets

According to an aspect of the invention, annotation “tracks” or otherannotation datasets may be created. By way of example, annotationdatasets may each enable access to annotations from one or more sources,annotations that correspond to presentations from one or more contentdelivery services, annotations that are provided to one or more socialnetworking services, or other annotations. Annotation datasets may, forexample, enable annotations corresponding to portions of a content itemto be presented when the portions of the content item are presentedduring a presentation of the content item. In one scenario, forinstance, an annotation dataset may include information indicatingreference times for annotations to enable the annotations to bepresented when the corresponding portions of the content item arepresented during the presentation of the content item. Among otherbenefits, the creation of annotation tracks or other annotation datasetsmay enable annotations to be packaged and shared as a collection ofannotations among users. In addition, the creation of annotation tracksmay facilitate the creation of an “author ecosystem” where, for example,users may gain a following or become “trendsetters” based on theirtracks. Furthermore, annotation tracks may be provided to one or morethird party entities in exchange for compensation or other reasons. Asan example, a network may want to re-broadcast a movie (or other contentitem) with a track of annotations provided by any one or more of themovie's director, actors, or other “insiders” or individuals associatedwith production of the movie. Other examples may be implemented.

Annotation tracks (or other annotation datasets) may include tracks thatare only accessible by a single user (e.g., the user that created thetrack, a user designated to access the track, etc.), tracks that areonly accessible to a group of users (e.g., a user's friend as specifiedby the user that created the track), tracks that are publicallyavailable to all users, etc. In one use case, for example, privacysettings of a user's account may dictate by default how tracks createdby the user are shared.

Annotation tracks (or other annotation datasets) may, for example, becreated when a user selects or approves annotations to be included in atrack, or may be automatically created when the user enters annotationsfor a content item. Tracks associated with a user may, for instance, becreated when the user inputs annotations for a movie or televisionepisode for the first time, and/or updated when the user subsequentlyinputs annotations while re-watching the movie or television episode. Asanother example, tracks may be created automatically when a serviceselects annotations to be included in a track based on one or moreparameters. In one scenario, tracks may be created and stored in adatabase that is searchable by users. In another scenario, tracks may becreated on the fly for presentation to a user in response to a trackrequest from the user (e.g., play the movie with a track having thehighest rated comments, play the episode with a track having commentsthat my friends posted since yesterday, etc.).

Tracks may, for example, comprise static tracks or dynamic tracks. A setof annotations that are available via a static track may, for instance,remain the same over time, unless the static track is modified by a useror a service (e.g., a user may be able to add/remove annotations to/froma static track). On the other hand, a set of annotations that areavailable via a dynamic track may change over time without modificationby a user or service. In one use case, the playing of a dynamic trackduring a presentation of an associated content item may causeannotations to be streamed and presented to a user such that theannotations during a first presentation of the track differ from thoseduring a second presentation of the track. For example, a track that isgenerated to present the most recent comments (e.g., within the last 7days, within the last 24 hours, within the last hour, etc.) submitted bya user's friends for a particular episode may include different commentseach time the episode is played. The track may, for instance, include aquery that searches a database for the most recent comments authored bythe user's friends for the episode each time playback of the episode isinitiated.

In various implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto generate a dataset that enables access to a first annotationcorresponding to a first portion of a content item, informationindicating a first source of the first annotation (e.g., a user or othersource from which the first annotation is received), informationindicating a content item with which the first annotation is associated,information indicating a first reference time that corresponds to thefirst portion of the content item, or other information.

In one implementation, the generated dataset may further enables accessto a second annotation corresponding to a second portion of the contentitem, information indicating the first source as a source of the secondannotation, information indicating the content item, informationindicating a second reference time that corresponds to the secondportion of the content item, or other information. In anotherimplementation, the generated dataset may further enables access to athird annotation corresponding to a third portion of the content item,information indicating a second source of the third annotation,information indicating the content item, information indicating a thirdreference time that corresponds to the third portion of the contentitem, or other information.

By way of example, as shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the STAR track may enablesaccess to Annotations 1A, 1B, 2A, 3A, and 3B. The STAR track may alsoenable access to information which indicates that the annotations areassociated with Content Item 1, User X is a source of Annotations 1A,1B, and 3A, and User Y is a source of Annotations 2A and 3B. The STARtrack may further enable access to information which indicates thatAnnotation 1A and 1B are associated with a first reference time(represented by a first position of control element 204), Annotation 2Ais associated with a second reference (represented by a second positionof control element 204), and Annotations 3A and 3B are associated with athird reference time (represented by a third position of control element204).

In one example, as depicted in FIGS. 7A-7C, the STAR track enablesAnnotations 1A and 1B to be presented when Portion A is presented duringthe presentation of Content Item 1 (e.g., based on the first referencetime corresponding to Portion A), Annotation 2A to be presented whenPortion B is presented during the presentation of Content Item 1 (e.g.,based on the second reference time corresponding to Portion B), andAnnotations 3A and 3B to be presented when Portion C is presented duringthe presentation of Content Item 1 (e.g., based on the third referencetime corresponding to Portion C).

In another example, with respect to FIGS. 7A-7C, Table 1 below is anexemplary depiction of information included in the STAR track. As anexample, the STAR track may include annotation identifiers that can beused to obtain the associated annotations from a database when the STARtrack is played.

TABLE 1 Annotation Reference Time Content Item Source Delivery Service[1A Identifier] [First Time] [CI 1 Identifier] [User X] [CDS#1Identifier] [1B Identifier] [First Time] [CI 1 Identifier] [User X][CDS#2 Identifier] [2A Identifier] [Second Time] [CI 1 Identifier] [UserY] [CDS#3 Identifier] [3A Identifier] [Third Time] [CI 1 Identifier][User X] [CDS#1 Identifier] [3B Identifier] [Third Time] [CI 1Identifier] [User Y] [CDS#3 Identifier] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In yet another example, with respect to FIGS. 7A-7C, Table 2 below isanother exemplary depiction of information included in the STAR track.As shown in Table 2, the STAR track may include the content of theannotations.

TABLE 2 Annotation Reference Time Content Item Source Delivery Service[Content for 1A] [First Time] [CI 1 Identifier] [User X] [CDS#1Identifier] [Content for 1B] [First Time] [CI 1 Identifier] [User X][CDS#2 Identifier] [Content for 2A] [Second Time] [CI 1 Identifier][User Y] [CDS#3 Identifier] [Content for 3A] [Third Time] [CI 1Identifier] [User X] [CDS#1 Identifier] [Content for 3B] [Third Time][CI 1 Identifier] [User Y] [CDS#3 Identifier] . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

In certain implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto receive a request to generate a track. The request to generate thetrack may include information that indicates annotations for inclusionin the track. As an example, the request may indicate annotations thatare selected by a user for inclusion in the track. As such, the trackmay be generated to enable access to the selected annotations along withother information that enable the selected annotations to be presentedwhen corresponding portions of a content item are presented during apresentation of the content item.

As another example, the request may indicate a content item for whichthe track is targeted, a source indicating the origin of the annotations(e.g., an author of the annotations or other source), or otherparameters. In response to the request, annotations associated with thecontent item and the source may be obtained to generate the track.

In one use case, a user may submit a request to generate a track thatincludes annotations associated with a content item that are authored bya particular person, whether it be an individual associated with theproduction of the content item (e.g., an actor, a director, a producer,etc.), or a viewer or consumer of the content item, such as a member ofthe user's social group (e.g., the user's friends, the user'scolleagues, etc.). With respect to FIGS. 7A-7C, for example, User X maybe an actor that stars in the content item, and User Y may be a memberof the user's social group. In response to the request, Annotations 1A,1B, 2A, 3A, 3B, and other annotations may be obtained to generate theSTAR track.

In various implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto receive, from a user, a request to search for a track. The requestmay, for example, include a query that comprises keywords or otherparameters (e.g., annotation types, sources, social distances, userrelationship status, spatial proximity, temporal proximity, etc.).Annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed to process the request toidentify a first track in a database based on the keywords or otherparameters, after which the first track may be provided to the user.

As an example, a user may submit a query for tracks by entering thequestion “What tracks are available for season #1, episode #6, of FamilyGuy?” As a result, annotation subsystem 106 may process the query,identify tracks for season #1, episode #6, of Family Guy in a database,and provide the identified tracks to the user. Other examples of queriesmay include queries related to inputs, such as “Show me directors' oractors' tracks for Movie X,” “Show me the highest rated track forTelevision Show Y,” “Show me tracks by Famous Person Z,” “Show me tracksfor Movie X that are rated PG-13,” “Show me tracks by members of mysocial group,” or other inputs. Any number and type of queries may beused.

In some implementations, ratings, feedback, or classification of tracksmay be facilitated. For example, annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to enable users to rate tracks or provide other feedbackabout the tracks. As an example, ratings or other feedback provided byusers regarding a track may, for instance, be aggregated to determine anoverall rating for the track (e.g., average rating, total number of“likes,” etc.) or other statistical information regarding the track(e.g., commonly characterized as “funny” and “interesting,” highlyenjoyed by women between 18-30, a favorite among a user's friends,etc.). In one use case, as shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the STAR track may beassociated with an average rating of 4.6/5. The average rating may, forinstance, be an average of all the ratings given to the STAR track byusers in general or by a particular set of users (e.g., a user'sfriends, users with a certain level of status, etc.). It should beappreciated that the foregoing values, ranges, etc., are exemplary innature, and should not be viewed as limiting.

In another implementation, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toinfer ratings or other feedback for tracks. As an example, in onescenario, a track may be characterized as “popular” based on adetermination that the track has been downloaded/streamed by users athreshold number of times, or that the track has beendownloaded/streamed more times than a majority of other tracks. Inanother scenario, a track may be characterized as “cheerful” based on ananalysis of the content of the annotations in the track indicating thatmany of the annotations include cheerful messages. Othercharacterization (e.g., positive, negative, angry, etc.) may of coursebe utilized without limitation.

As another example, characteristics may be inferred for a track based onreactions associated with ratings or feedback of the track. In someimplementations, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may be programmedto identify a reaction associated with a rating or feedback of a track.Annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed to determine a characteristicfor the track based on the reaction, and/or associate the characteristicwith the track.

In one example, with respect to FIGS. 7A-7C, users may submit a ratingfor each of the annotations of a track (e.g., thumbs-up/thumbs-down,like/dislike, etc.). If, for example, at least a threshold number (e.g.,fixed number or percentage) of the annotations of the STAR track arecollectively rated by a threshold number of users, and the number ofpositive ratings is 1% to 100% greater than the number of negativeratings, the STAR track may be associated with the characteristic of“more positive than not.” If the threshold numbers are satisfied, andthe number of positive ratings is 101% to 300% greater than the numberof negative ratings, the STAR track may be associated with thecharacteristic of “well-liked.” If the threshold numbers are satisfied,and the number of positive ratings is over 300% greater than the numberof negative ratings, the STAR track may be associated with thecharacteristic of “superb.” It should be appreciated that the foregoingtrack descriptors, values, ranges, etc., are exemplary in nature, andshould not be viewed as limiting.

In another use case, users may reply to annotations of a track duringpresentation of a content item and the track. Each of the replies to anannotation may be analyzed to determine one or more characteristicsassociated with the annotation. Based on the annotation characteristics,one or more characteristics may be determined for (and associated with)the overall track. As an example, an annotation in a track may be may becharacterized as “funny” when a reply to the annotation includes termsassociated with the characteristic “funny.” The track may becharacterized as “funny” when a threshold number of the annotations inthe track are characterized as “funny.”

In another implementation, account subsystem 110 may be programmed toenable users to rate or provide other feedback about one another, and/orinfer ratings or other feedback for a user. In one use case, forexample, account subsystem 110 may enable users to submit ratingsregarding other users. The ratings regarding a user may, for instance,be aggregated to determine statistics for the user (e.g., an averagerating of the user, a number of likes vs. dislikes, etc.). In anotheruse case, account subsystem 110 may infer ratings or other feedbackabout a user based on ratings or other feedback that other userssubmitted for annotations created by the user created, tracks created bythe user, etc.

Incentivizing Creation of Annotations

According to an aspect of the invention, a database of annotations maybe generated by incentivizing users to create annotations. By way ofexample, users may be provided with rewards for the creation ofannotations, interactions with the annotations, creating annotationsthat enable transaction via the annotations, or other reasons. In thisway, among other benefits, users may be encouraged to create annotationsthat include quality feedback for content items with which others willpositively interact, annotations that enable transactions to facilitaterevenue earnings, or annotations that offer other benefits.

In certain implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto receive an annotation by a user. The annotation may, for instance,correspond to a time at which a portion of a content item is presented.Account subsystem 110 may be programmed to associate the annotation witha user account (associated with the user). Reward subsystem 114 may beprogrammed to determine a reward to be provided (or credited) to theuser account based on the receipt of the first annotation. As anexample, a user may be compensated when the user creates annotations(e.g., 1 cent for every 20 annotations created, 1 point for eachannotation created, etc.), when other users interact with theannotations created by the user, or when other conditions for rewardsare satisfied. It should be appreciated that the foregoing values,reward types, etc., are exemplary in nature, and should not be viewed aslimiting.

In some implementations, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to monitor interactions with an annotation associated with auser account (e.g., interactions by a user of the user account,interaction by other users, etc.). The monitored interactions may, forexample, include access of the annotation (e.g., viewing the annotation,listening to the annotation, etc.) during a presentation of anassociated content item, reactions by users to the annotation (e.g.,rating the annotation, replying to the annotation, etc.), execution oftransactions enabled via the annotation, or other interactions. Rewardsubsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward to be provided (orcredited) to the user account based on the interactions.

In one implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify requests by one or more users for an annotationassociated with a user account (e.g., requests by other users for theannotation). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine areward to be provided (or credited) to the user account based on therequests. The requests may, for example, include requests to be exposedto the annotation, to include the annotation in an annotation track, orother requests. In one scenario, an authoring user of comments may berewarded based on the exposure of the comments to other users (e.g., 1cent for every 100 comment views, 1 point for each comment view, etc.).In another scenario, a threshold number of comment views may need to besatisfied before the authoring user may begin to be compensated. In afurther scenario, the authoring user may be provided with a first typeof reward (e.g., points that cannot be exchanged for real world money)until the authoring user obtains a particular status (e.g., Silverstatus, Gold status, etc.) that is achieved when a threshold number ofcomment views is satisfied. After the threshold number of comment viewsis satisfied, the authoring user may be provided with a second type ofreward (e.g., real world money, points that can be exchanged for realworld money, etc.). It should be appreciated that the foregoing values,reward types, etc., are exemplary in nature, and should not be viewed aslimiting.

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify reactions of one or more users to a commentassociated with a user account (e.g., reactions of other users to thecomment). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a rewardto be provided (or credited) to the user account based on the reactions.The reactions may, for example, include a rating of the comment, a replyto the comment, or other reactions to the comment. In one use case, anauthoring user of comments may be rewarded based on ratings given to thecomments by other users (e.g., $1 for every 10 four-star (or higher)ratings given to the comments, 1 point for each “like” given to thecomments, etc.). In another use case, an authoring user of comments maybe rewarded based on replies to the comments by other users (e.g., $1for every 10 replies, 1 point for each reply, etc.). It should beappreciated that the foregoing values, reward types, etc., are exemplaryin nature, and should not be viewed as limiting.

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify an exposure of a promotion related to a productor service to one or more users via a comment associated with a useraccount (e.g., viewing a product/service promotion via the comment,listening to a product/service promotion via the comment, etc.). Rewardsubsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward to be provided (orcredited) to the user account based on the exposure. The promotion may,for example, relate to a product or service that appears in a portion ofa content item to which the comment corresponds. In one scenario, anauthoring user of comments may be rewarded for including, in a comment,a reference to a product or service that is depicted in a portion of atelevision episode (corresponding to the comment) by compensating theauthoring user when the reference to the product or service is exposedto other users. For example, with respect to FIG. 8A, User X may becompensated for including in Annotation 1A a reference to a jacket thatis depicted in Portion A of Content Item 1 when the reference is exposedto other users. As indicated in FIG. 8B, User Y may be compensated forincluding in Annotation 2A a reference to a Brand X dress that isdepicted in Portion B of Content Item 1 when the reference is exposed toother users.

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify use of a mechanism (via a comment associated witha user account) that enables execution of a transaction related to aproduct or service (e.g., accessing a shopping site via a link in thecomment). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a rewardto be provided (or credited) to the user account based on the use of themechanism. The transaction may, for example, relate to a product orservice that appears in a portion of a content item to which the commentcorresponds. In one use case, an authoring user of a comment may berewarded based on execution of a mechanism in the comment that enablesexecution of a transaction. For example, with respect to FIG. 8A, User Xmay be compensated for including in Annotation 1A a link to a shoppingsite through which a jacket depicted in Portion A of Content Item 1 maybe purchased when the link is clicked (or otherwise executed). Asindicated in FIG. 8B, User Y may be compensated for including inAnnotation 2A a link to a product page of a shopping site through whicha Brand X dress depicted in Portion B of Content Item 1 may be purchasedwhen the link is clicked (or otherwise executed).

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify an execution of a transaction related to aproduct or service that is enabled via a comment associated with a useraccount (e.g., purchasing of a product, a user sign-up with a service,etc.). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward tobe provided (or credited) to the user account based on the execution ofthe transaction. The transaction may, for example, relate to a productor service that appears in a portion of a content item to which thecomment corresponds. In one use case, an authoring user of a comment maybe rewarded based on execution of transactions that are enabled via thecomment. For example, with respect to FIG. 8A, User X may be compensatedfor including in Annotation 1A a reference (e.g., a link) to a shoppingsite through which a jacket depicted in Portion A of Content Item 1 maybe purchased when the jacket is purchased by other users using thereference to the shopping site. With respect to FIG. 8B, User Y may becompensated for including in Annotation 2A a reference to a product pageof a shopping site through which a Brand X dress depicted in Portion Bof Content Item 1 may be purchased when the dress is purchased by otherusers using the reference to the product page.

In some implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toidentify a reference associated with a product or service in a commentassociated with a user account. Annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to provide a mechanism in the comment to enable a transactionrelated to the product or service. The reference may, for example,include a product/service identifier, a product/service type identifier,a link to a website through which the transaction related to the productor service may be executed, or other reference. In one scenario, withrespect to FIG. 8A, User X may include in Annotation 1A a hyperlink to ashopping site through which a jacket that is depicted in Portion A ofContent Item 1 may be purchased. Upon identification of the shoppingsite hyperlink, annotation subsystem 106 may modify the hyperlink toinclude an affiliate code associated with reward subsystem 114 (or anentity associated with reward subsystem 114). As such, when the jacketis purchased through the modified hyperlink, an account associated withreward subsystem 114 (or the entity associated with reward subsystem114) may be provided with a portion of the revenue from the purchase ofthe jacket. Reward subsystem 114 may detect that the jacket purchase wasmade through the modified hyperlink, and compensate User X for includingthe original hyperlink to the shopping site in Annotation 1A.

In another scenario, with respect to FIG. 8B, User Y may include theterm “Brand X dress” in Annotation 2A without a link to a shopping sitethrough which the Brand X dress depicted in Portion B of Content Item 1may be purchased. Nevertheless, upon identification of the term “Brand Xdress” and that a dress is depicted in Portion B of Content Item 1,annotation subsystem 106 may add a hyperlink, including an affiliatecode associated with reward subsystem 114 (or an entity associated withreward subsystem 114), for the dress's product page on the shopping siteto Annotation 2A. As such, when the dress is purchased through thehyperlink, an account associated with reward subsystem 114 (or theentity associated with reward subsystem 114) may be provided with aportion of the revenue from the purchase of the dress. Reward subsystem114 may detect that the dress purchase was made through the hyperlink,and compensate User Y for including the term “Brand X dress” inAnnotation 2A.

Incentivizing Creation of Annotation Datasets

According to an aspect of the invention, a database of annotationdatasets (or tracks) may be facilitated by incentivizing users to createtracks. By way of example, users may be provided rewards for creation oftracks, interactions with the tracks, enabling of transactions via thetracks, or for other reasons. In this way, among other benefits, usersmay be encouraged to create tracks that include quality annotations,tracks that enable transactions to facilitate revenue earnings, ortracks that offer other benefits.

In certain implementations, account subsystem 110 may be programmed toassociate a track created by a user with a user account associated withthe user. Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a rewardto be provided (or credited) to the user account based on the creationof the track. The track may, for example, enable access to commentscorresponding to portions of a content item, information that allows thecomments to be presented when the corresponding portions are presentedduring a presentation of the content item, or other information.

In some implementations, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to monitor interactions with a track associated with a useraccount (e.g., interactions by a user of the user account, interactionby other users, etc.). The monitored interactions may, for example,include access of the track (e.g., downloading the track, viewing thecomments in the track, listening to the comments in the track, etc.),reactions by users to the track (e.g., rating the track, rating commentsof the track, replying to comments in the track, etc.), execution oftransactions enabled via the track, or other interactions. Rewardsubsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward to be provided (orcredited) to the user account based on the interactions.

In one implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify requests by one or more users for a trackassociated with a user account (e.g., requests by other users for thetrack). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward tobe provided (or credited) to the user account based on the requests. Therequests may, for example, include requests to access the track. In onescenario, a creating user of tracks may be rewarded based on requests byother users to access the tracks (e.g., 1 cent for each track access, 1point for each track access, etc.). In another scenario, a thresholdnumber of track accesses may need to be satisfied before the creatinguser may begin to be compensated. In a further scenario, the creatinguser may be provided with a first type of reward (e.g., points thatcannot be exchanged for real world money) until the creating userobtains a particular status (e.g., Silver status, Gold status, etc.)that is achieved when a threshold number of track accesses is satisfied.After the threshold number of track accesses is satisfied, the creatinguser may be provided with a second type of reward (e.g., real worldmoney, points that can be exchanged for real world money, etc.). Itshould be appreciated that the foregoing values, reward types, etc., areexemplary in nature, and should not be viewed as limiting.

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify reactions of one or more users to a trackassociated with a user account (e.g., reactions of other users to thetrack). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward tobe provided (or credited) to the user account based on the reactions.The reactions may, for example, include a rating of the track, ratingsof comments of the track, a reply to a comment of the track, or otherreactions to the track. In one use case, a creating user of a track maybe rewarded based on ratings given to the track (e.g., $1 for every 10four-star (or higher) ratings given to the track, 1 point for each“like” given to the track, etc.). In another use case, a creating userof a track may be rewarded based on ratings given to comments of thetrack by other users (e.g., 10 cents for every 10 four-star (or higher)ratings given to the comments, 1 point for every 10 “likes” given to thecomments, etc.). In another use case, a creating user of a track may berewarded based on replies to comments of the track by other users (e.g.,1 cent for each reply, 1 point for each reply, etc.). It should beappreciated that the foregoing values, reward types, etc., are exemplaryin nature, and should not be viewed as limiting.

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify an exposure of a promotion related to a productor service to one or more users via an track associated with a useraccount (e.g., viewing a product/service promotion via the track,listening to a product/service promotion via the track, etc.). Rewardsubsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward to be provided (orcredited) to the user account based on the exposure. The promotion may,for example, relate to a product or service that appears in a portion ofa content item to which a comment of the track corresponds. In onescenario, a creating user of a track may be rewarded for including, inthe track, a comment having a reference to a product or service that isdepicted in a portion of a television episode (corresponding to thecomment) by compensating the creating user when the reference to theproduct or service is exposed to other users. For example, with respectto FIG. 8A, a creating user of the STAR track (e.g., a user thatgenerated the STAR track) may be compensated for including Annotation 1Ain the STAR track when a reference to a jacket that is depicted inPortion A of Content Item 1 is exposed to other users. As anotherexample, with respect to FIG. 8B, the creating user may be compensatedfor including Annotation 2A in the STAR track when a reference to aBrand X dress that is depicted in Portion B of Content Item 1 is exposedto other users.

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify use of a mechanism (via a comment in a trackassociated with a user account) that enables execution of a transactionrelated to a product or service (e.g., accessing a shopping site via alink in the comment). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed todetermine a reward to be provided (or credited) to the user accountbased on the use of the mechanism. The transaction may, for example,relate to a product or service that appears in a portion of a contentitem to which the comment corresponds. In one use case, a creating userof a track may be rewarded based on execution of a mechanism in acomment of the track that enables execution of a transaction. Forexample, with respect to FIG. 8A, a creating user of the STAR track maybe compensated for including Annotation 1A in the STAR track when a linkto a shopping site through which a jacket depicted in Portion 1A ofContent Item may be purchased is clicked (or otherwise executed). Asanother example, with respect to FIG. 8B, the creating user may becompensated for including Annotation 2A in the STAR track when a link toa product page of a shopping site through which a Brand X dress depictedin Portion B of Content Item 1 may be purchased when the link is clicked(or otherwise executed).

In another implementation, interaction monitoring subsystem 112 may beprogrammed to identify an execution of a transaction related to aproduct or service that is enabled via a track associated with a useraccount (e.g., purchasing of a product, a user sign-up with a service,etc.). Reward subsystem 114 may be programmed to determine a reward tobe provided (or credited) to the user account based on the execution ofthe transaction. The transaction may, for example, relate to a productor service that appears in a portion of a content item to which acomment of the track corresponds. In one use case, a creating user of atrack may be rewarded based on execution of transactions that areenabled via comments in the track. For example, with respect to FIG. 8A,a creating user of the STAR track may be compensated for includingAnnotation 1A in the STAR track when the jacket depicted in Portion A ofContent Item 1 is purchased by other users using a reference (e.g., alink) to a shopping site that sells the jacket. As another example, withrespect to FIG. 8B, a creating user of the STAR track may be compensatedfor including Annotation 2A in the STAR track when the dress depicted inPortion B of Content Item 1 is purchased by other users using areference to a product page of a shopping site that sells the dress.

In some implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toidentify a reference associated with a product or service in a commentof a track associated with a user account. Annotation subsystem 106 maybe programmed to provide a mechanism in the track (e.g., in the commenthaving the reference, in a reply to the comment, in another comment inthe track, etc.) to enable a transaction related to the product orservice. The reference may, for example, include a product/serviceidentifier, a product/service type identifier, a link to a websitethrough which the transaction related to the product or service may beexecuted, or other reference. In one scenario, with respect to FIG. 8A,Annotation 1A (which is accessible via the STAR track) may include ahyperlink to a shopping site through which a jacket that is depicted inPortion A of Content Item 1 may be purchased. Upon identification of theshopping site hyperlink, annotation subsystem 106 may modify thehyperlink to include an affiliate code associated with reward subsystem114 (or an entity associated with reward subsystem 114). As such, whenthe jacket is purchased through the modified hyperlink, an accountassociated with reward subsystem 114 (or the entity associated withreward subsystem 114) may be provided with a portion of the revenue fromthe purchase of the jacket. Reward subsystem 114 may detect that thejacket purchase was made through the modified hyperlink, and compensatea creating user of the STAR track for Annotation 1A in the STAR track.

In another scenario, with respect to FIG. 8B, Annotation 2A (which isaccessible via the STAR track) may include the term “Brand X dress”without a link to a shopping site through which the Brand X dressdepicted in Portion B of Content Item 1 may be purchased. Nevertheless,upon identification of the term “Brand X dress” and that a dress isdepicted in Portion B of Content Item 1, annotation subsystem 106 mayadd a hyperlink, including an affiliate code associated with rewardsubsystem 114 (or an entity associated with reward subsystem 114), forthe dress's product page on the shopping site to Annotation 2A. As such,when the dress is purchased through the hyperlink, an account associatedwith reward subsystem 114 (or the entity associated with rewardsubsystem 114) may be provided with a portion of the revenue from thepurchase of the dress. Reward subsystem 114 may detect that the dresspurchase was made through the hyperlink, and compensate a creating userof the STAR track for including Annotation 2A in the STAR track.

Managing Replies or Other Reactions to Annotations

According to an aspect of the invention, replies or other reactions toannotations may be handled in a number of ways.

In various implementations, replies or other reactions to annotationsmay be stored in association with the annotations. For example, in someimplementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed to obtain afirst annotation corresponding to a portion of a content item. The firstannotation may, for instance, be received at a time which the portion ofthe content item is presented during a first presentation of the contentitem, and stored in a database so that the first annotation may besubsequently obtained from the database. Annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to provide the first annotation to enable the firstannotation to be presented with the portion of the content item during asecond presentation of the content item. Annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to receive, during the second presentation, a secondannotation as a reaction (or reply) to the first annotation. Uponreceipt of the second annotation, annotation subsystem 106 may initiatestorage of the second annotation in association with the firstannotation.

In one use case, with respect to FIG. 9A, User X may have previouslywatched a presentation of Content Item 1, and submitted Annotation 1Bwhen Portion A of Content Item 1 was presented. As shown in FIG. 9A,User X submitted Annotation 1B to ask other users where he/she canpurchase the hat depicted in Portion A. When User Z is watching apresentation of Content Item 1, Annotation 1B is presented to User Zwhen Portion A is presented during the presentation of Content Item 1(FIG. 9B). In response, User Z may reply to Annotation 1B with a link toa shopping site through which the hat depicted in Portion A can bepurchased to provide an answer to User X's question (e.g., using “Reply”button 902 and reply window 904).

As an example, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the reply may be stored asAnnotation 1C in association with Annotation 1B such that Annotation 1Cmay appear as a reply to Annotation 1B when User X or other users (e.g.,future viewers of Portion A) watch Portion A of Content Item 1. As such,among other benefits, questions and their corresponding answers may bepresented together during respective portions of a content item that arerelevant to the question and answer combinations.

As another example, as indicated by user interface 906 in FIG. 9C, thereply to Annotation 1B may cause Annotation 1B and the reply (e.g.,Annotation 1C) to be provided to a social networking service (e.g.,Social Networking Service #1) to store Annotation 1B and the reply as amessage thread, and initiate a conversation between User X and User Zvia the social networking service (e.g., Social Networking Service #1)based on the message thread.

In certain implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmedto obtain a first track that enables access to a first annotation thatcorresponds to a portion of a content item. The first track may, forexample, include an annotation identifier associated with the firstannotation, a first reference time for the first annotation, or otherinformation. The first reference time may correspond to the same portionof the content item as the first annotation, and may be utilized alongwith the annotation identifier to present the first annotation when thecorresponding portion is presented during a presentation of the contentitem.

In some implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toprovide the first track (e.g., to user device 104) to enable the firstannotation to be presented with the corresponding portion of the contentitem. Upon receipt of a second annotation as a reaction to the firstannotation during a presentation of the content item, annotationsubsystem 106 may initiate storage of the second annotation inassociation with the first annotation. The storage of the secondannotation (in association with the first annotation) may, for instance,result in the first track further enabling access to the secondannotation (e.g., the STAR track in FIGS. 9A-9B may further enableaccess to Annotation 1C).

In one implementation, the second annotation may be stored in a databasewith information indicating that the second annotation is a reaction tothe first annotation. As an example, when the first track is playedduring a presentation of the content item, the first track may indicatethat the first annotation is to be presented with its correspondingportion of the content item. Based on a query of the database for thefirst annotation (e.g., using the annotation identifier of the firstannotation), the second annotation may be obtained in addition to thefirst annotation as a result of the second annotation being identifiedin the database as a reaction to the first annotation. Subsequently,both the first annotation and the second annotation may be presentedwhen the corresponding portion of the content item is presented.

In another implementation, the first track may be updated to furtherenable access to the second annotation based on the receipt of thesecond annotation. For example, the first track may be updated tofurther include an annotation identifier associated with the secondannotation and information indicating that the second annotation is areaction to the first annotation.

In another implementation, a second track that enables access to thefirst annotation may be updated such that the second track furtherenables access to the second annotation. As an example, two differenttracks (e.g., annotation tracks or other tracks) that enable access totwo different sets of annotations may both be updated when a usersubmits a reaction to an annotation common to both tracks duringplayback of only one of the two tracks.

As discussed, in various implementations, a reply or other reaction toan annotation may initiate a conversation between users. For example, insome implementations, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toobtain an annotation inputted by a first user during a firstpresentation of a content item. Annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to present the annotation during a second presentation of thecontent item to a second user. Annotation subsystem 106 may beprogrammed to receive a reaction associated with the annotation from thesecond user. Based on the receipt of the reaction, annotation subsystem106 may be programmed to provide the annotation and the reaction to thefirst user.

In one implementation, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toinitiate a message thread associated with the first user and the seconduser based on the receipt of the reaction. As an example, annotationsubsystem 106 may cause the message thread to be generated at amessaging service (e.g., a social networking service, a chat service, aSMS service, a MMS service, etc.) that is accessible to the first userand the second user. If, for instance, the first user's user device islogged into the messaging service, the annotation and the reaction maybe provided to the user device (e.g., pulled by the user device, pushedto the user device, etc.). As such, the reaction to the annotation mayinitiate a conversation between the first and second users even if theannotation by the first user had not been intended specifically for thesecond user, as well as without either user having to re-experience theportion of the content item to which the annotation corresponds. Amongother benefits, conversations may be initiated between users regardingsubject matter of mutual interest, continued through a messaging serviceindependent of an annotation service or a content delivery service, etc.

In another implementation, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toprovide the annotation and the reaction to the first user via a socialnetworking service. For example, annotation subsystem 106 may identify asocial network service with which the first user and the second userboth have accounts, and provide the annotation and the reaction to thefirst user via the social network service. In one use case, as shown inFIG. 9C, Annotation 1B and its reaction (Annotation 1C) may be providedto User X via Social Network Service #1.

In another implementation, annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed toidentify a social distance between the first user and the second userwithin a social network. Annotation subsystem 106 may be programmed todetermine whether the social distance satisfies a social distancethreshold, and provide the annotation and the reaction to the first userbased on a determination that the social distance satisfies the socialdistance threshold. In one use case, for example, User X may beassociated with a preference to only receive communications from usersthat are 1 degree away from the user. As such, while a conversationbetween the user and one of the user's friends may be initiated when thefriend replies to one of User X's annotations corresponding to portionsof a content item, annotation subsystem 106 may know not to initiate aconversation between the user and another user that is only a friend ofone of the user's friends (e.g., more than 1 degree away from the user).

As discussed, in some implementations, a reaction to an annotation in atrack may result in the track be updated to include (or otherwisefurther enabling access to) the reaction. On the other hand, in otherimplementations, the annotation and the reaction may be provided to anauthoring user of the annotation without the track being updated toinclude (or otherwise enabling access to) the reaction.

Intelligently Presenting User Interface Elements

According to an aspect of the invention, display of user interfaceelements may be presented based on relevancy. By way of example, userinterface elements may be presented with varying characteristics basedon, for example, the relevancy of the user interface elements to a useror other users, the relevancy of data associated with the user interfaceelements to the user or other users, the relevancy of the user interfaceelements to activity being performed by the user or other users, etc. Inthis way, the presentation of the user interface elements may allow auser to quickly identify relevant information, actions that may be ofinterest to the user, recommendations related to the user's interests,etc.

Characteristics of the user interface elements may, for example, includeone or more shapes, designs, sizes, colors, locations, animations,orientations, degrees of transparencies/opaqueness, degrees of sharpnessor blurriness, labels (e.g., number, letter, etc.), or othercharacteristics. The characteristics of the user interface elements maychange over time based on changes with respect to the number of userinterface elements on display, data associated with each of the userinterface elements, activities of a user or other users, etc.

In some implementations, the user interface elements may be static intheir presentation or may move dynamically in response to changes in theX, Y, or Z plane of the user interface. For example, rather than simplymoving user interface elements horizontally (e.g., X plane), vertically(e.g., Y plane), or some combination thereof in the user interface, userinterface elements may move into or out of the background of a userinterface in a dynamic 3-dimensional fashion (e.g., Z plane). In thisway, user interface elements of the user interface may be presented in amanner that simplifies the user interface while also providing the userwith simultaneous access to many different user interface elements.

In certain implementations, user interface elements may be associatedwith content items (e.g., movies, episodes, video clips, songs, audiobooks, e-books, or other content items). Content presentation subsystem116 may be programmed to determine relevancy information indicating therelevancy of each of the content items to a user. Content presentationsubsystem 116 may be programmed to modify and/or present the userinterface elements based on the relevancy information.

In one example, with respect to FIG. 10A, user interface 1002 mayinclude a display of user interface elements 1004 a-1004 g that areassociated with television shows. While FIG. 10A depicts user interfaceelements corresponding to television shows, it should be appreciatedthat a similar interface may be utilized for any other content item(e.g., movies, songs, etc.). The characteristics of user interfaceelements 1004 may, for example, be based on which shows are mostfrequently viewed by the user, which shows are most relevant to aspecific genre specified by the user, which shows the user has viewedthe most, etc.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 10B, the size of user interfaceelement 1004 b (e.g., associated with the “Big Bang Theory” televisionshow) may be increased, and the location of user interface element 1004b within the Z plane (e.g., depth) may be changed to feature userinterface element 1004 b more prominently in front of other userinterface elements (e.g., from the perspective of the user). As anexample, changes to the size and location of user interface element 1004b may be effectuated when a number of the user's friends begin to tuneinto one or more episodes of Big Band Theory. The change in the size andlocation of user interface element 1004 b may, for example, alert theuser that there may be information of potential interest to the userassociated with user interface 1004 b. In one use case, upon selectionof user interface element 1004 b, the user may be presented with aninformation page that indicates the episodes of the Big Bang Theory thatthe user's friends are currently watching or have recently watched. Theuser may, for example, be inclined to start watching the episodesindicated on the information page in order to see the comments or otherannotations that the user's friends have submitted for portions of theepisodes.

In various implementations, user interface elements may be associatedwith other users within a user's social group (e.g., the user's friends,the user's colleagues, the user's connections within a social network,or other group). Content presentation subsystem 116 may be programmed todetermine relevancy information indicating the relevancy of each of theother users to the user. Content presentation subsystem 116 may beprogrammed to present user interface elements based on the relevancyinformation, for example, by modifying the characteristics of the userinterface elements based on the relevancy of respective ones of theother users to the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 10C, thecharacteristics of user interface elements 1006 a-1006 g may, forexample, be based on the frequency of the user's interactions with theother users (e.g., reactions to the other users' annotations,conversations with the other users, etc.), the frequency of theinteractions with one another, similarity of the other users' activitieswith the user's activities, etc.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 10D, the size of user interfaceelement 1006 b (e.g., associated with Karl Thomas) may be increased, andthe location of user interface element 1006 b within the Z plane (e.g.,depth) may be changed to feature user interface element 1006 b moreprominently in front of other user interface elements (e.g., from theperspective of the user). As an example, the change to the size andlocation of user interface element 1006 b may be effectuated when anincrease in interactions with items associated with Karl Thomas'saccount is detected. The change in the size and location of userinterface element 1006 b may, for example, alert the user that there maybe information of potential interest to the user associated with userinterface 1006 b. In one use case, upon selection of user interfaceelement 1006 b, the user may be presented with an information page thatindicates the annotations that Karl Thomas has recently submitted forcontent items, the reactions that users have recently submitted for KarlThomas's annotations, users that have recently engaged in conversationwith Karl Thomas, etc. As a result, for example, the user may beinclined to view Karl Thomas's annotations and the reactions associatedwith Karl Thomas's annotations, start submitting annotations for contentitems for which Karl Thomas has submitted annotations, initiate aconversation with Karl Thomas, or perform other activities.

Managing Control of Presentations of a Content Item to a Group of Users

According to an aspect of the invention, control of presentations of acontent item to a group of users may be managed such that an applicationor a user may control playback or other features of the presentations ofthe content item to the group of users. For example, a group of users(e.g., friends) may wish to view a movie or television show together andplay an accompanying game (e.g., a trivia game), engage in a relatedcontest, etc. However, the users may not have access to the same contentdelivery service to watch a presentation of the movie or televisionshow, or the users may be watching a presentation of the movie ortelevision show on different applications or devices. As such, it may bedifficult for the users to control multiple presentations of the movieor television show to play an accompanying game, engage in a relatedcontest, etc. Accordingly, in some implementations, one or more users ofa group may be enabled to simultaneously control multiple presentationsof a content item to respective users of the group even when thepresentations are provided to the users via different content deliveryservices, different user applications, or different user devices. Inthis way, among other benefits, the group interaction experience (e.g.,group watching experience, group listening experience, group gamingexperience, etc.) may be enhanced.

In some implementations, content presentation subsystem 116 may beprogrammed to manage presentations of a content item to at least twousers. By way of example, content presentation subsystem 116 maysynchronize the presentations of the content item (e.g., based onpresentation reference times or other information) so that users mayexperience the same portion of the content item at a given time.

In some implementations, content reference subsystem 108 may beprogrammed to map portions of a first presentation of a content item toportions of a second presentation of the content item. The portions ofthe first and second presentations may, for example, be mapped to oneanother via a master set of reference times (as described in detailabove with regard to FIG. 3).

As shown in FIGS. 11A-11B, for example, User A may watch a firstpresentation of Content Item 1 on user interface 202 a, and User B maywatch a second presentation of Content Item 1 on user interface 202 b.The first presentation may, for instance, be provided via a firstcontent delivery service (e.g., NETFLIX), and the second presentationmay be provided via a second content delivery service (e.g., HULU).Nevertheless, the two presentations may be synchronized so that User Aand User B are watching the same portion of Content Item 1 at the sametime.

In one scenario, with respect to FIGS. 11A-11B, User A and User B may beplaying a trivia game related to Content Item 1 (e.g., a movie, anepisode, etc.). A remote application may control the presentations ofContent Item 1 to User A and User B, and pause the presentations atparticular times to ask trivia questions related to a portion of ContentItem 1. As depicted in FIGS. 11A-11B, User A and User B may be presentedwith a question (e.g., Question 4) on window 1102, and they may eachanswer Question 4 using “Answer” button 1104. Questions of the triviagame may, for example, be presented as comments on a track (e.g., atrivia game track or other track) created by administrators or otherusers, and answers to the trivia questions may be stored as reactions tothe comments.

In another scenario, User A or User B may control the ability to pausethe presentations of Content Item 1. For example, when User A activatesthe play/pause button 208 a to pause the presentations of Content Item 1at Portion A, both User A and User B may be presented with a questioncorresponding to Portion A. As illustrated in FIGS. 11A-11B, User A has3 points for answering 3 previous questions correctly, and User B has 1point for answering 1 previous question correctly.

In various implementations, a threshold number of users in a group ofusers may need to issue a command in order for the command to beimplemented for presentations of a content item to the group of users.As an example, with respect to FIGS. 11A-11B, both User A and User B mayneed to activate their play/pause buttons 208 when Portion A ispresented to pause the presentations of Content Item 1 at Portion A andtrigger the presentation of Question 4. As such, both User A and User Bmay be allowed to gauge whether they are comfortable with questionsregarding a certain portion of a content item before activating theirplay/pause button 208 to trigger a question.

In some implementations, the control of presentations of a content item(e.g., partial control, full control, etc.) may be passed among a groupof users based on a schedule, pass intervals (e.g., time intervals, useintervals, etc.), token-based criteria, or other criteria. In one usecase, a user may manually pass his/her control of the presentations toanother user in the group. In another use case, a schedule may indicatewhen each one of the group of users should be given full or partialcontrol. In another use case, passing of control may be performed aftera user has had control for a particular time interval, or after a userhas used all of his/her available number of commands to controlpresentations of the content item.

In yet another use case, a user may be given a certain number of tokenswhich may be exchanged for issuing commands to control the presentationsof the content item to the group of users (e.g., 1 token to pause thepresentations for 5 seconds, 3 tokens to rewind or fast-forward thepresentations up to 5 minutes back or forward, 6 tokens to cause thepresentations to jump to any portion of the content item, etc.). Afterthe user has used all of his/her tokens, the control of thepresentations may be passed to another user in the group that hasavailable tokens. A user may, for example, be given an initial set oftokens for controlling the presentations of the content item for free,but may have the option to purchase additional tokens. The foregoingtrivia game is but one example. It should be recognized that otherexamples may be implemented when a group of users wish to view a movieor television show together. In some implementations, third parties maygenerate and provide “group viewing tracks” to encourage socialbehavior.

Exemplary Flowcharts

FIGS. 12-27 comprise exemplary illustrations of flowcharts of processingoperations of methods that enable the various features and functionalityof the system as described in detail above (and illustrated in FIGS.1-11). The processing operations of each method presented below areintended to be illustrative and non-limiting. In some implementations,for example, the methods may be accomplished with one or more additionaloperations not described, and/or without one or more of the operationsdiscussed. Additionally, the order in which the processing operations ofthe methods are illustrated and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In some implementations, the methods may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of the methods in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of the methods.

Exemplary Flowchart for Creating and Maintaining a Database ofAnnotations

FIG. 12 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1200 ofcreating and maintaining a database of annotations corresponding toportions of a content item, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 1202, a first annotation corresponding to a time atwhich a first portion of a content item is presented via a first contentdelivery service may be received. Operation 1202 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1204, a second annotation corresponding to a time atwhich the first portion of the content item is presented via a secondcontent delivery service may be received. As an example, thepresentation via the first content delivery service may correspond to afirst presentation that includes the content item, and the presentationvia the second content delivery service may correspond to a secondpresentation that includes the content item. As another example, thepresentation via the first content delivery service may correspond to afirst presentation that includes the first portion of the content itemand does not include a second portion of the content item, and thepresentation via the second content delivery service may include thefirst and second portions of the content item. Operation 1204 may beperformed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar toannotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1206, storage of the first annotation in associationwith a first reference time corresponding to the first portion of thecontent item may be initiated. Operation 1206 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1208, storage of the second annotation in associationwith the first reference time (corresponding to the first portion of thecontent item) may be initiated. Operation 1208 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1210, a third annotation corresponding to a time atwhich a second portion of the content item is presented may be received.Operation 1210 may be performed by an annotation subsystem that is thesame as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

In an operation 1212, storage of the third annotation in associationwith a second reference time corresponding to the second portion of thecontent item may be initiated. Operation 1212 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1214, the first and/or second annotations may beprovided based on the first reference time. For example, the firstand/or second annotations may be provided based on the first referencetime such that the first and/or second annotations are presented whenthe first portion of the content item (to which the first reference timecorresponds) is presented during a third presentation of the contentitem. The third presentation may, for example, be provided via the firstcontent delivery service, the second content delivery service, or athird content delivery service. The third presentation may be the sameas one of the first or second presentations of the content item, ordifferent than both the first and second presentations of the contentitem. Operation 1214 may be performed by an annotation subsystem that isthe same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordance withone or more implementations.

In an operation 1216, the third annotation may be provided based on thesecond reference time. For example, the third annotation may be providedbased on the second reference time such that the third annotation ispresented when the second portion of the content item (to which thesecond reference time corresponds) is presented during the thirdpresentation of the content item. Operation 1216 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Generating Annotations Based on UserInteractions

FIG. 13 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1300 ofgenerating annotations for a content item based on interactions of userswith presentations of the content item, according to an aspect of theinvention.

In an operation 1302, an interaction of a user with a presentation of acontent item may be monitored. Operation 1302 may be performed by aninteraction monitoring subsystem that is the same as or similar tointeraction monitoring subsystem 112, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1304, a characteristic of the content item may bedetermined based on the interaction. Operation 1304 may be performed byan annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1306, an annotation may be generated for the contentitem based on the characteristic. Operation 1306 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1308, a reference time that corresponds to a portion ofthe content item may be identified for the annotation based on theinteraction. Operation 1308 may be performed by a content referencesubsystem that is the same as or similar to content reference subsystem108, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1310, storage of the annotation in association with thereference time may be initiated. Operation 1310 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1312, the annotation may be provided based on thereference time such that the annotation is presented when the portion ofthe content item (to which the reference time corresponds) is presentedduring a subsequent presentation of the content item. Operation 1312 maybe performed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similarto annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Providing Annotations to Social NetworkingServices

FIG. 14 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1400 ofproviding annotations (corresponding to portions of a content item) tosocial networking services, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 1402, a presentation of a content item may be initiated.Operation 1402 may be performed by a user content presentation subsystemthat is the same as or similar to user content presentation subsystem120, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1404, a first annotation may be received at a time atwhich a first portion of the content item is presented. Operation 1404may be performed by a user annotation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to user annotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1406, storage of the first annotation in associationwith a first reference time (corresponding to the first portion of thecontent item) may be initiated. Operation 1406 may be performed by auser annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to userannotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1408, the first annotation may be provided to a firstsocial networking service. Operation 1408 may be performed by a userannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to user annotationsubsystem 118, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1410, a second annotation may be received at a time atwhich a second portion of the content item is presented. Operation 1410may be performed by a user annotation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to user annotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1412, storage of the second annotation in associationwith a second reference time (corresponding to the second portion of thecontent item) may be initiated. Operation 1412 may be performed by auser annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to userannotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1414, the second annotation may be provided to a secondsocial networking service. Operation 1414 may be performed by a userannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to user annotationsubsystem 118, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Presenting Annotations

FIG. 15 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1500 ofpresenting annotations corresponding to portions of a content itemduring a presentation of the content item, according to an aspect of theinvention.

In an operation 1502, a selection of a content item to be presented to auser may be received. Operation 1502 may be performed by a user contentpresentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to user contentpresentation subsystem 120, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1504, a first parameter associated with the user that isrelated to presentation of annotations may be received. Operation 1504may be performed by a user annotation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to user annotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1506, annotations corresponding to portions of thecontent item may be obtained based on the first parameter. Operation1506 may be performed by a user annotation subsystem that is the same asor similar to user annotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

In an operation 1508, a second parameter associated with the user thatindicates a characteristic desired by the first user may be received.Operation 1508 may be performed by a user content presentation subsystemthat is the same as or similar to user content presentation subsystem120, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1510, a presentation of the selected content item may beinitiated such that the presentation of the selected content item isbased on the second parameter. Operation 1510 may be performed by a usercontent presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to usercontent presentation subsystem 120, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1512, a determination that the presentation of theselected content item has reached a first reference time correspondingto a first portion of the content item may be effectuated. Operation1512 may be performed by a user annotation subsystem that is the same asor similar to user annotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

In an operation 1514, first and/or second annotations associated withthe first reference time may be presented at a time corresponding to thefirst portion of the content item. Operation 1514 may be performed by auser annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to userannotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1516, a third annotation by the user that corresponds toa time at which a second portion of the content item is presented may bereceived during the presentation of the content item. Operation 1516 maybe performed by a user annotation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to user annotation subsystem 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1518, storage of the third annotation in associationwith a second reference time corresponding to the second portion of thecontent item may be initiated. Operation 1518 may be performed by a userannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to user annotationsubsystem 118, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Rewarding the Creation of Annotations

FIG. 16 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1600 offacilitating rewards for the creation of annotations, according to anaspect of the invention.

In an operation 1602, an annotation corresponding to a time at which aportion of a content item is presented may be received from a user.Operation 1602 may be performed by an annotation subsystem that is thesame as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

In an operation 1604, the annotation may be associated with a useraccount of the user. Operation 1604 may be performed by an accountsubsystem that is the same as or similar to account subsystem 110, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1606, a reward to be provided (or credited) to the useraccount may be determined based on the annotation. For example, a rewardmay be provided (or credited) to the user account based on a receipt ofannotation from a user, interactions of other users with the annotation,or other criteria. Operation 1606 may be performed by a reward subsystemthat is the same as or similar to reward subsystem 114, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Rewarding Based on Interactions with Annotations

FIG. 17 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1700 offacilitating rewards based on interactions with annotations, accordingto an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 1702, an annotation received during a presentation of acontent item may be associated with a user account. Operation 1702 maybe performed by an account subsystem that is the same as or similar toaccount subsystem 110, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1704, interactions with the annotation may be monitored.Monitored interactions may, for instance, include access of theannotation (e.g., viewing the annotation, listening the annotation,etc.) by other users during presentation of the content item, reactionsby users to the annotation (e.g., rating the annotation, replying to theannotation, etc.), execution of transactions enabled via the annotation,or other interactions. Operation 1704 may be performed by an interactionmonitoring subsystem that is the same as or similar to interactionmonitoring subsystem 112, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1706, a reward to be provided (or credited) to the useraccount may be determined based on the interactions. For example, adetermination of whether the interactions satisfy one or more criteriafor compensating a user associated with the user account may beeffectuated. The reward to be provided to the user account may bedetermined based on whether the interactions satisfy the compensationcriteria. Operation 1706 may be performed by a reward subsystem that isthe same as or similar to reward subsystem 114, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Rewarding Based on Annotation-EnabledTransactions

FIG. 18 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1800 offacilitating rewards based on execution of transactions enabled viaannotations, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 1802, an annotation received during a presentation of acontent item may be associated with a user account. Operation 1802 maybe performed by an account subsystem that is the same as or similar toaccount subsystem 110, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1804, a reference associated with a product or servicemay be identified in the annotation. Operation 1804 may be performed byan annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1806, a mechanism that enables a transaction related tothe product or service may be provided in the annotation. For example,the mechanism may be provided in the annotation based on theidentification of the reference associated with the product or servicein the annotation. Operation 1806 may be performed by an annotationsubsystem that is the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1808, an execution of the transaction enabled via themechanism may be identified. For example, the execution of thetransaction may be identified based on use of the mechanism by a user tofacilitate the execution of the transaction. Operation 1808 may beperformed by an interaction monitoring subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to interaction monitoring subsystem 112, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

In an operation 1810, a reward to be provided (or credited) to the useraccount may be determined based on the execution of the transaction.Operation 1810 may be performed by a reward subsystem that is the sameas or similar to reward subsystem 114, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Providing Annotation Tracks or Other Datasets

FIG. 19 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 1900 ofproviding a dataset (or track) of annotations corresponding to portionsof a content item, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 1902, a first annotation received from a first sourceduring a first presentation of a content item (via a first contentdelivery service) may be stored. The first source may, for example,include an authoring user of the first annotation, an entity associatedwith the authoring user, or other entity. Operation 1902 may beperformed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar toannotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1904, a second annotation received from the first sourceduring a second presentation of the content item (via a second contentdelivery service) may be stored. Operation 1904 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1906, a third annotation received from a second sourceduring a third presentation of the content item may be stored. Thesecond source may, for example, include an authoring user of the secondannotation, an entity associated with the authoring user, or otherentity. Operation 1906 may be performed by an annotation subsystem thatis the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

In an operation 1908, the first, second, or third annotations may beidentified for inclusion in a dataset (or track). For example, theannotations may be identified for inclusion in the dataset based on aselection of the annotations by a user for inclusion in the dataset, oneor more parameters selected by a user for creating the dataset,automatic creation of the dataset by a service without explicit userinput to create the dataset, etc. Operation 1908 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1910, the dataset may be generated. For example, thedataset may be generated such that the dataset enables access to thefirst, second, or third annotations. Operation 1910 may be performed byan annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1912, the dataset may be provided to enable the first,second, or third annotations to be presented, respectively, at timescorresponding to first, second, or portions of the content items.Operation 1912 may be performed by an annotation subsystem that is thesame as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

In an operation 1914, a reaction associated with the first, second, orthird annotations may be identified. Operation 1914 may be performed byan interaction monitoring subsystem that is the same as or similar tointeraction monitoring subsystem 112, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 1916, a characteristic may be determined for the datasetbased on the reaction. Operation 1916 may be performed by an annotationsubsystem that is the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 1918, the characteristic may be associated with thedataset. Operation 1918 may be performed by an annotation subsystem thatis the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Rewarding Based on Interactions with Datasets

FIG. 20 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2000 offacilitating rewards based on interactions with datasets (e.g., tracks),according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 2002, a dataset (or track) that enables access toannotations corresponding to portions of a content item may begenerated. Operation 2002 may be performed by an annotation subsystemthat is the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 2004, the dataset may be associated with a user account.For example, the dataset may be received from a first source, and thedataset may be associated with a user account of the first source. Thefirst source may include a creating user of the dataset, an entityassociated with the creating user, or other entity. Operation 2004 maybe performed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similarto annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2006, interactions with the dataset may be monitored.Monitored interactions may, for example, include access of the dataset(e.g., viewing annotations of the dataset, listening annotations of thedataset, etc.) by users during a presentation of the content item,reactions by users to the dataset (e.g., rating the dataset, ratingannotations of the dataset, replying to annotation of the dataset,etc.), execution of transactions enabled via the dataset, or otherinteractions. Operation 2006 may be performed by an interactionmonitoring subsystem that is the same as or similar to interactionmonitoring subsystem 112, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2008, a reward to be provided (or credited) to the useraccount may be determined based on the interactions. Operation 2008 maybe performed by a reward subsystem that is the same as or similar toreward subsystem 114, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Rewarding Based on Dataset-Enabled Transactions

FIG. 21 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2100 offacilitating rewards based on execution of transactions enabled viadatasets (e.g., tracks), according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 2102, a reference associated with a product or servicemay be identified in an annotation that is to be included in a dataset(or track). Operation 2102 may be performed by an annotation subsystemthat is the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 2104, a mechanism that enables a transaction related tothe product or service may be generated. Operation 2104 may be performedby an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 2106, the dataset may be generated such that the datasetenables access to the annotation and the mechanism. Operation 2106 maybe performed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similarto annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2108, the dataset may be associated with a user account.Operation 2108 may be performed by an account subsystem that is the sameas or similar to account subsystem 110, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2110, an execution of the transaction via the mechanismmay be identified. For example, the execution of the transaction may beidentified based on use of the mechanism by a user to facilitate theexecution of the transaction. Operation 2110 may be performed by aninteraction monitoring subsystem that is the same as or similar tointeraction monitoring subsystem 112, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2112, a reward to be provided to the user account may bedetermined based on the execution of the transaction. Operation 2112 maybe performed by a reward subsystem that is the same as or similar toreward subsystem 114, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Facilitating the Sharing of Portions of aContent Item

FIG. 22 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2200 offacilitating the sharing of portions of a content item across differentcontent delivery services, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 2202, a request to provide information to enable accessto a portion of a content item may be received. The request may, forexample, be based on a first presentation of the content item via afirst content delivery service. Operation 2202 may be performed by acontent presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2204, a reference time corresponding to the portion ofthe content item may be identified. Operation 2204 may be performed by acontent reference subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentreference subsystem 108, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 2206, reference information that enables access to theportion of the content item in a second presentation of the content item(via a second content delivery service) may be generated based on thereference time. Operation 2206 may be performed by a contentpresentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2208, the reference information may be provided toenable access to the portion of the content item via the second contentdelivery service. Operation 2208 may be performed by a contentpresentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Facilitating the Access of a Portion of aContent Item

FIG. 23 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2300 offacilitating the access of a portion of a content item, according to anaspect of the invention.

In an operation 2302, reference information related to a portion of acontent item may be received. For example, the reference information maybe generated based on user input during a first presentation of thecontent item (via a first content delivery service). Operation 2302 maybe performed by a content presentation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to content presentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

In an operation 2304, a second content delivery service (through whichaccess to the portion of the content item is available) may beidentified based on the reference information. For example, thereference information may include information indicating the contentitem (e.g., content item identifier), the portion of the content item(e.g., portion identifier), a reference time corresponding to theportion of the content item, or other information. The second contentdelivery service may be identified based on a determination that thesecond content delivery service offers access to the content item or theportion of the content item. Operation 2304 may be performed by acontent presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2306, the portion of the content item may be provided inthe second presentation (via the second content delivery service) basedon the reference information. For example, the reference information mayenable a user to jump to the portion of the content item in the secondpresentation (e.g., using a content item identifier associated with thecontent item and a reference time corresponding to the portion of thecontent item). Operation 2306 may be performed by a content presentationsubsystem that is the same as or similar to content presentationsubsystem 116, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Enabling Storage of Reactions to Annotations

FIG. 24 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2400 ofenabling storage of reactions to annotations, according to an aspect ofthe invention.

In an operation 2402, a first annotation (initially received at a timewhich a portion of a content item is presented during a firstpresentation of the content item) may be obtained. Operation 2402 may beperformed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similar toannotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2404, the first annotation may be provided when thecorresponding portion of the content item is presented during a secondpresentation of the content item. Operation 2404 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 2406, a second annotation may be received during thesecond presentation as a reaction to the first annotation. Operation2406 may be performed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2408, storage of the second annotation in associationwith the first annotation may be initiated. By way of example, thesecond annotation may be stored in association with the first annotationbased on a determination that the second annotation is a reaction to thefirst annotation. Operation 2408 may be performed by an annotationsubsystem that is the same as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Initiating Conversations Based on AnnotationReactions

FIG. 25 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2500 ofinitiating conversations between users based on reactions toannotations, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 2502, an annotation entered by a first user during afirst presentation of a content item may be obtained. Operation 2502 maybe performed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similarto annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2504, the annotation may be presented during a secondpresentation of the content item (to a second user). Operation 2504 maybe performed by an annotation subsystem that is the same as or similarto annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2506, a reaction associated with the annotation may bereceived from the second user. Operation 2506 may be performed by anannotation subsystem that is the same as or similar to annotationsubsystem 106, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In an operation 2508, the annotation and the reaction may be providedvia a messaging service to the first user. As an example, the annotationand/or the reaction may be provided to the first user based on adetermination that the first and second users are associated with thesame social network, a determination that the first and second users arewithin a social distance threshold from one another, or other criteria.Operation 2508 may be performed by an annotation subsystem that is thesame as or similar to annotation subsystem 106, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Presenting User Interface Elements Based onRelevancy

FIG. 26 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2600 ofpresenting user interface elements based on relevancy, according to anaspect of the invention.

In an operation 2602, relevancy of a user interface element to a usermay be determined with respect to a first time. Operation 2602 may beperformed by a content presentation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to content presentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

In an operation 2604, a first set of characteristics may be determinedfor the user interface element based on the determined relevancy withrespect to the first time. Operation 2604 may be performed by a contentpresentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2606, the user interface element may be presented basedon the first set of characteristics. Operation 2606 may be performed bya content presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar tocontent presentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2608, relevancy of a user interface element to the usermay be determined with respect to a second time (e.g., relevancy of theuser interface element at the second time). Operation 2608 may beperformed by a content presentation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to content presentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

In an operation 2610, a second set of characteristics may be determinedfor the user interface element based on the determined relevancy withrespect to the second time. Operation 2610 may be performed by a contentpresentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2612, the user interface element may be modified duringthe presentation of the user interface element based on the second setof characteristics. Operation 2612 may be performed by a contentpresentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

Exemplary Flowchart for Controlling Multiple Presentations of a ContentItem

FIG. 27 is an exemplary illustration of a flowchart of a method 2700 offacilitating control of presentations of a content item to a group ofusers, according to an aspect of the invention.

In an operation 2702, presentations of a content item to first andsecond users via first and second content delivery services,respectively, may be synchronized. Operation 2702 may be performed by acontent presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2704, control of the presentations of the content itemmay be enabled for the first or second users. For example, user controlof the presentations of the content item may be enabled for the firstuser, while user control of the presentations of the content item may bedisabled for the second user (or vice versa). Operation 2704 may beperformed by a content presentation subsystem that is the same as orsimilar to content presentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

In an operation 2706, a control command may be received from acontrolling user (e.g., first user, second user, etc.) during thepresentations of the content item. Operation 2706 may be performed by acontent presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar to contentpresentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In an operation 2708, the presentations of the content item may becontrolled based on the control command. Operation 2708 may be performedby a content presentation subsystem that is the same as or similar tocontent presentation subsystem 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

Although the present invention has been described in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention isnot limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any implementation can becombined with one or more features of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of storing reactions annotationsassociated with a content item that are received during a presentationof the content item, the method being implemented by a computer systemthat includes one or more physical processors executing one or morecomputer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method,the method comprising: obtaining, by the computer system, a firstannotation received at a time at which a first portion of a firstcontent item is presented during a first presentation of the firstcontent item; providing, by the computer system, the first annotationsuch that the first annotation is presented when the first portion ofthe first content item is presented during a second presentation of thefirst content item; receiving, by the computer system, during the secondpresentation, a second annotation as a reaction to the first annotation;and initiating, by the computer system, storage of the second annotationin association with the first annotation.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the second annotation is received at a time at which a secondportion of the first content item is presented.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising: obtaining, by the computer system, a firstdataset that enables access to the first annotation and referenceinformation corresponding to the first portion of the first contentitem, wherein the first annotation is presented based on the referenceinformation, and wherein the first dataset further enables access to thesecond annotation in response to the receipt of the second annotation.4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: updating, by the computersystem, the first dataset in response to the receipt of the secondannotation such that the first dataset further enable access to thesecond annotation.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:updating, by the computer system, a second dataset that enables accessto the first annotation such that the second dataset further enablesaccess to the second annotation.
 6. A system for storing reactionsannotations associated with a content item that are received during apresentation of the content item, the system comprising: one or morephysical processors programmed to execute one or more computer programinstructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physicalprocessors to: obtain a first annotation received at a time at which afirst portion of a first content item is presented during a firstpresentation of the first content item; provide the first annotationsuch that the first annotation is presented when the first portion ofthe first content item is presented during a second presentation of thefirst content item; receive, during the second presentation, a secondannotation as a reaction to the first annotation; and initiate storageof the second annotation in association with the first annotation. 7.The system of claim 6, wherein the second annotation is received at atime at which a second portion of the first content item is presented.8. The system of claim 6, further comprising: obtain a first datasetthat enables access to the first annotation and reference informationcorresponding to the first portion of the first content item, whereinthe first annotation is presented based on the reference information,and wherein the first dataset further enables access to the secondannotation in response to the receipt of the second annotation.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further causedto: update the first dataset in response to the receipt of the secondannotation such that the first dataset further enable access to thesecond annotation.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further caused to: update a second dataset that enablesaccess to the first annotation such that the second dataset furtherenables access to the second annotation.
 11. A method of facilitatingmessaging between users based on reactions associated with annotations,the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one ormore physical processors executing one or more computer programinstructions which, when executed, perform the method, the methodcomprising: obtaining, by the computer system, an annotation submittedby a first user during a first presentation of a content item;presenting, by the computer system, the annotation during a secondpresentation of the content item to a second user; receiving, by thecomputer system, a reaction associated with the annotation from thesecond user; and providing, by the computer system, the annotation andthe reaction to the first user.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: initiating, by the computer system, a message threadassociated with the first user and the second user in response to thereceipt of the reaction, wherein providing the annotation and thereaction comprises providing the annotation and the reaction via themessage thread.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein providing theannotation and the reaction comprises providing the annotation and thereaction to the first user via a social networking service.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: identifying, by the computersystem, a first account of the first user with the social networkingservice; and identifying, by the computer system, a second account ofthe second user with the social networking service, wherein providingthe annotation and the reaction comprises providing the annotation andthe reaction to the first user via the social networking service basedon the identification of the first account and the second account. 15.The method of claim 11, further comprising: identifying, by the computersystem, a social distance between the first user and the second userwithin a social network; and determining, by the computer system,whether the social distance satisfies a social distance threshold,wherein providing the annotation and the reaction comprises providingthe annotation and the reaction to the first user based on adetermination that the social distance satisfies the social distancethreshold.
 16. A system for facilitating messaging between users basedon reactions associated with annotations, the system comprising: one ormore physical processors programmed to execute one or more computerprogram instructions which, when executed, cause the one or morephysical processors to: obtain an annotation submitted by a first userduring a first presentation of a content item; present the annotationduring a second presentation of the content item to a second user;receive a reaction associated with the annotation from the second user;and provide the annotation and the reaction to the first user.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the one or more physical processors arefurther caused to: initiate a message thread associated with the firstuser and the second user in response to the receipt of the reaction,wherein providing the annotation and the reaction comprises providingthe annotation and the reaction via the message thread.
 18. The systemof claim 16, wherein providing the annotation and the reaction comprisesproviding the annotation and the reaction to the first user via a socialnetworking service.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or morephysical processors are further caused to: identify a first account ofthe first user with the social networking service; and identify a secondaccount of the second user with the social networking service, whereinproviding the annotation and the reaction comprises providing theannotation and the reaction to the first user via the social networkingservice based on the identification of the first account and the secondaccount.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more physicalprocessors are further caused to: identify a social distance between thefirst user and the second user within a social network; and determinewhether the social distance satisfies a social distance threshold,wherein providing the annotation and the reaction comprises providingthe annotation and the reaction to the first user based on adetermination that the social distance satisfies the social distancethreshold.